|
 The source said Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, a Republican and
former federal judge, was among the possible candidates.
As governor, Sandoval has taken a traditional Republican stance in
support of gun rights, but his more moderate views on social issues,
such as abortion rights, could make him an attractive choice for the
Democratic president.
A 52-year-old Mexican-American, Sandoval was appointed a judge by
Republican George W. Bush, Obama's predecessor, before being elected
governor in 2010. He abandoned his state's legal defense of a
same-sex marriage ban before the Supreme Court declared such bans
unconstitutional last year.
The Feb. 13 death of long-serving conservative Justice Antonin
Scalia created a vacancy on the nine-seat court and ignited a
political fight. Republicans are maneuvering to foil Obama's ability
to choose a replacement who could tilt the court to the left for the
first time in decades. Scalia's death left the court with four
liberals and four conservatives.
 Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced on Tuesday the
Senate will not hold hearings or vote on any Supreme Court nominee
until the next president takes office in January 2017, following the
Nov. 8 presidential election. Republicans hope to win back the White
House then.
The Senate must confirm any high court nominee, but McConnell
remained unswayed even with word that Obama was considering the
Republican Sandoval for the job.
"This nomination will be determined by whoever wins the presidency
in the fall," McConnell said.
Senator Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Judiciary Committee that
would hold any confirmation hearings, concurred, saying, "It's the
principle, not the person."
The White House said it was hoping for a meeting with Grassley and
his committee's top Democrat, Patrick Leahy. A McConnell aide said
McConnell was trying to schedule a meeting with Obama to reiterate
his opposition to any nominee.
'HE WAS INTERESTED'
Sandoval met on Monday in the U.S. Capitol for about 30 minutes with
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada, and Reid asked him
whether he would be interested in being considered for the high
court job, according to the source, who asked not to be identified.
"He said he was interested," the source said of Sandoval, adding
that "a number of people are being checked out" for the job. Reid is
a close ally of Obama.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest declined during a briefing to
confirm whether Sandoval was on Obama's list of potential nominees.
White House officials are seeking a candidate they think lawmakers
from both parties could support, but Obama may be unlikely to choose
any Republican, even a centrist. The Democratic political base would
object to such a choice, a risk Obama is unlikely to take during an
election year.
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Some liberal groups expressed alarm that Sandoval would be
considered. Charles Chamberlain of the group Democracy for America
called it "downright absurd" that Obama would risk his legacy by
appointing "another anti-labor Republican" to an already pro-big
business Supreme Court.
Sandoval opposed Obama's healthcare law, but opted to expand his
state's Medicaid health insurance program for the poor under the
measure, breaking from a number of Republican governors who refused
to do so.
He expressed support for bipartisan immigration legislation that
passed the Senate in 2013 before dying in the House of
Representatives amid Republican opposition.
In 2013, Sandoval vetoed legislation to require background checks on
all Nevada gun sales. Last year, he signed a law backed by the
National Rifle Association that expanded the defenses for
justifiable homicide and repealed a local ordinance that required
handgun registration.
'WORTHY TO SIT'
Obama vowed on Wednesday to move ahead with a nominee and said
Republicans would risk public ire if they blocked a qualified
candidate for political motives, as well as diminishing the
credibility of the high court.
Obama said he expected the Senate Judiciary Committee to extend his
nominee the courtesy of a confirmation hearing and then vote on
whether he or she is qualified.
"In the meantime, the American people are going to have the ability
to gauge whether the person I've nominated is well within the
mainstream, is a good jurist, is somebody who's worthy to sit on the
Supreme Court," Obama told reporters in the Oval Office.
"I think it will be very difficult for Mr. McConnell to explain how,
if the public concludes that this person's very well qualified, that
the Senate should stand in the way simply for political reasons."
Liberals vowed to pressure Senate Republicans into considering
Obama's nominee, with several groups delivering to the Senate boxes
of what they said contained 1.3 million signatures from citizens
demanding that a confirmation process go forward after the president
announces his pick.
(Additional reporting by Susan Heavey, Lawrence Hurley and Joseph
Ax; Writing by Will Dunham and Jeff Mason; Editing by Bill Trott and
Howard Goller)
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