Senate braces for Supreme Court battle

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Hours after Justice John Paul Stevens announced he will retire from the Supreme Court, top senators honored his service but laid out the lines for the forthcoming battle over his successor.

Democrats will need Republican help to confirm whomever President Obama nominates to replace Stevens, who will be 90 this month. There are 59 senators who caucus with the Democrats, one less than the supermajority needed to break any filibuster.

Even though he praised Stevens’ devotion and courtly manners, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky made it clear that the GOP will use hearings expected this summer to make the party’s points about what kind of Supreme Court it would like to see.

“As we await the president’s nominee to replace Justice Stevens at the end of his term, Americans can expect Senate Republicans to make a sustained and vigorous case for judicial restraint and the fundamental importance of an evenhanded reading of the law,” McConnell said in a prepared statement.

It is unlikely Obama will pick a replacement conservative enough to placate Republicans. In a statement, Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada called for someone similar to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Obama’s first appointee.

“I am confident that President Obama will use the same wisdom that he showed with his nomination of Justice Sotomayor and name a well-qualified successor,” Reid said. “I encourage my Republican colleagues to join us in conducting fair, respectful hearings and swift confirmation of the president’s nominee.”

-- Michael Muskal
Twitter.com/LATimesmuskal