 President Obama called on Senate Republicans Wednesday to "fulfill their constitutional duties" and consider a Supreme Court nominee this year, questioning their reasoning for vowing not to consider his choice to replace Antonin Scalia. "I believe the overwhelming view of the Republican conference of the Senate is that this nomination, this vacancy, should not be filled by this lame-duck president," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, told reporters earlier this week after conferring with members of the GOP. Referring to McConnell and Senate Republicans on Wednesday morning, Obama said: “I recognize the politics are hard for them, because the easier thing to do is to give in to the most extreme voices within their party and stand pat and do nothing.” 
 
 But he predicted that the Republican position “may evolve” if the public believes his nominee is “very well qualified.” 
 
 “I don’t expect Mitch McConnell to say that is the case today. I don’t expect any member of the Republican caucus to stick their head out at the moment and say that. But let’s see how the public responds to the nominee that we put forward,” the president said. "I'm also mindful that there will be cases that reach the Supreme Court in which the law is not clear. The Nevada Republican stepped down from the bench in 2009 to run for governor and is now counted among the most popular governors in the nation. As the 2016 election cycle got underway a year ago, Washington Republicans set their sights on Sandoval as their top recruit to try to challenge Reid.
– President Obama on Wednesday told the Senate to do its job and at least give his eventual Supreme Court nominee a hearing: "They are then free to vote whatever their conscience dictates," he told reporters, per CBS News, but it's clear their "constitutional duties" include at least allowing a hearing. A hearing on whom? Well, per multiple sources who spoke to the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, the White House is currently vetting Brian Sandoval, the Republican governor of Nevada. He's described as a "centrist" by the Post, who says "some key Democrats" see him as "perhaps the only nominee" Obama might be able to get Republicans to consider. Mitch McConnell and the Judiciary Committee have pledged to take no action on any Supreme Court nominee from Obama. Would that change if the nominee is a member of their own party? Three GOP senators who sit on the Judiciary Committee all said no, but other Republican senators say getting a nominee like Sandoval could be cause to reconsider. Some Democrats believe nominating Sandoval would put some Republicans up for re-election in November in an awkward position, and could ultimately force the Senate to break its blockade. Sandoval, who has a "bipartisan record" per the Post and is aligned with Democrats on abortion rights and the environment, met with Harry Reid Monday, and a source says he allowed the vetting process to proceed but said he hadn't decided whether he'd accept a nomination. It's not clear how many potential nominees the White House is considering, but the Journal notes there are likely more.