Amid the political brawl surrounding President Barack Obama's potential Supreme Court nomination, two Republican senators have split from party's stand despite the Republican party's newly-discovered backing to the opposition.
Republican senators Mark Kirk and Susan Collins have called on the Senate to receive a hearing on the nomination.
Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins is of the opinion that the Senate should take the nomination process "one step at a time."
"For my part, it's clear that the President can send up a nominee -- regardless of where he is before he leaves office," Collins told CNN. She emphasized that it is the constitutional duty of the Senate to advice, give or withhold their consent to the nomination.
"I believe we should follow the regular order and give careful consideration to any nominee that the president may send to the Senate," Collins added.
Illinois Senator Mark Kirk, in an opinion piece published in the Chicago Sun Times, said that he recognizes the right of the president to appoint a new member of the Supreme Court in the case of a vacancy. He also recognizes his duty as a senator to cast his vote on the matter.
"I also recognize my duty as a senator to either vote in support or opposition to that nominee following a fair and thorough hearing along with a complete and transparent release of all requested information," Kirk said, as noted by Reuters.
Kirk added that he hopes Obama would select a nominee "who can bridge differences, a nominee who finds common ground and a nominee who does not speak or act in the extreme."
Despite the defection, the Republican Party, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, remained firm on their stance that the Supreme Court post should remain vacant until a new president takes office in January next year.
The Supreme Court nomination follows the vacancy left by conservative Justice Antonin Scalia who died of natural causes on Feb. 13.
Senate Republicans have embraced a new precedent on Monday to back their opposition.
In 1992, then fourth-term senator Joseph Biden, who was at the time serving as the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, argued that should there be a vacancy in the Supreme Court, then president George H.W. Bush should refrain from naming a nominee until after the November election has concluded.
"Senate consideration of a nominee under these circumstances is not fair to the president, to the nominee, or to the Senate itself," Biden stated in a 90-minute floor address in the Senate. "Where the nation should be treated to a consideration of constitutional philosophy, all it will get in such circumstances is partisan bickering and political posturing from both parties and from both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue."
As vice president, Biden expressed support towards Obama's move and pressed the Senate to hold a hearing and vote on the nomination.
"In the same statement critics are pointing to today, I urged the Senate and White House to work together to overcome partisan differences to ensure the Court functions as the Founding Fathers intended," he said, as quoted by The Washington Post. "That remains my position today."
Current Judiciary Committee chairman Senator Charles E. Grassley has strongly held on to what is now called the "Biden Rules." Reiterating Biden's remarks in 1992, Grassley reiterated that a presidential Supreme Court nomination should not take place in an election year, and that the senate should not hold hearings on the nomination.
Senators from both political factions have squared off on the position on whether or not to recognize Obama's nomination. Meanwhile, Obama has reportedly reviewed potential Supreme Court candidates over the weekend.
