The Constitution is clear': Obama fires back after Republicans move to block his Supreme Court nominee

US President Barack Obama called outSenate Republicans who have vowed to block any nomination he makes for the Supreme Court seat vacated after Justice Antonin Scalia's sudden death on Saturday."The Constitution is pretty clear about what is supposed to happen now," he said ata Tuesday press conference from Rancho Mirage, California, where he is attending a summit with the leaders of Asian nations."Historically, this has not been viewed as a question. There is no unwritten law that says it can only be done on off years. That's not in the Constitutional text.""I am amused when I hear people who claim to be strict interpreters of the constitution suddenly reading into it a whole serious of provisions that weren't there," he continued.Obama said there would beplenty of time for the Senate to consider his eventual nominee."We've almost gotten accustomed to how obstructionist the Senate's become when it comes to nominations," he said, riffing off nominations to various posts still pending inCongress. "Every nomination is contested, everything is blocked, regardless of how qualified the person is, even when there's no ideological objection to them."When asked whether he had decided on nominating a more moderate candidate for the high court, Obama said he had made no such decision. He added that nothing should be assumedother than that the eventual nominee would bewell-qualified for the job.The Supreme Court is"the one court where we would expect elected officials to rise above day-to-day politics, and this will be the opportunity for senators to do their job," he said. "Your job isn't over until you're voted out, or until your term expires. ... I think what's fair to say is that is not the fault of any single party. This has become just one extension of politics."The vacant Supreme Court seat isat the center of the political discussion, particularly involving the 2016 presidential election.Republicans are demanding that the Senate refrains from confirmingObama's eventual appointment to the court, while Democrats are lambasting Republicans for obstructing what they claim is a constitutional dutyof the president.SEE ALSO:'Poisonous and grossly irresponsible' conspiracy theories are floating about Justice Antonin Scalia's deathJoin the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: Donald Trump's 'strange' morning habit tells you everything you need to know about him
Click here to read full news..