Senator Mitch McConnell acknowledged Mr. Obama’s right to propose a replacement for Justice Antonin Scalia, who died earlier this month. But he stressed that Republicans controlling the Senate would also exercise their rights, the BBC reports. Scalia’s death left the conservative-run Supreme Court evenly divided. It also set off a battle in a presidential election year over Scalia’s successor into the nine-member body. “Presidents have a right to nominate, just as the Senate has its constitutional right to provide or withhold consent. In this case, the Senate will withhold it,” Senator McConnell said on Tuesday. “The Senate will appropriately revisit the matter after the American people finish making in November the decision they’ve already started making today,” he added, in a reference to the November 8 presidential elections. Meanwhile, the Democrat Minority Leader of the Senate, Harry Reid, described Senator McConnell’s stance on the issue as “obstruction on steroids.” “Gone are the days of level-headedness and compromise,” Mr. Reid said. The White House said shortly after Scalia’s death that a new judge would soon be nominated by Mr. Obama. Republicans said President Obama should leave this to his successor next year.]]>