Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s two U.S. senators are split along partisan lines about whether the Senate should consider a Supreme Court nominee from President Barack Obama, who has just over 11 months remaining in his second term.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., is siding with the Republican Senate leadership, which has called for the court seat, vacated with the death of Justice Antonin Scalia on Saturday, to remain open until the next president takes office.
That would mean an open court seat for nearly a year, until at least January 2017. Obama has said he will nominate a replacement for Scalia fairly soon.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said that the Senate should consider and vote on Obama’s nominee — although, with Republicans in control of the chamber, approval might be unlikely…
