Obama Calls Cornyn about Supreme Court Choice

By: Todd Gillman/The Dallas Morning News

President Barack Obama called Texas Sen. John Cornyn on Thursday to discuss the impending Supreme Court nomination.

Neither floated any names, a Cornyn spokesman said. But the Republican senator offered assurances that hearings on Obama’s choice to replace Justice John Paul Stevens, who plans to step down from the court in June, will be “dignified and civil,” spokesman Kevin McLaughlin said. Cornyn is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will hold confirmation hearings.

Obama met Wednesday to discuss the vacancy with the four senators most central in the process: Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and the panel’s top Republican, Jeff Sessions of Alabama. The call to Cornyn suggests a widening outreach aimed at smoothing the path for the eventual nominee.

Neither floated any names, a Cornyn spokesman said. But the Republican senator offered assurances that hearings on Obama’s choice to replace Justice John Paul Stevens, who plans to step down from the court in June, will be “dignified and civil,” spokesman Kevin McLaughlin said. Cornyn is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will hold confirmation hearings.

Obama met Wednesday to discuss the vacancy with the four senators most central in the process: Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and the panel’s top Republican, Jeff Sessions of Alabama. The call to Cornyn suggests a widening outreach aimed at smoothing the path for the eventual nominee.

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