President Barack Obama cannot select the most liberal possible candidate for the U.S. Supreme Court and should seek a "consensus" pick who could attract Republican support, Vice President Joe Biden said on Thursday.
A fierce political fight is brewing as the Democratic president prepares to name a successor to conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, who died on Saturday. Obama's nominee could change the court's balance of power. Scalia's death left it with four conservative and four liberal justices.
Many Republicans, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have said the seat should remain vacant until Obama's successor takes office next January so voters can have a say in the selection when they choose a new president in the Nov. 8 election.