Obama Appears to Show Willingness to Work With Republicans on SCOTUS Vacancy

President Barack Obama met with top Republicans Tuesday to discuss filling the vacancy on the Supreme Court left by the late Antonin Scalia, according to Reuters.

Obama met with both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to discuss who they would like to see fill Scalia's shoes, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest confirmed during Tuesday's press briefing.

President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) wait for a meeting about the Supreme Court vacancy in the Oval Office of the White House Tuesday. (Getty Images/Brendan Smialowski/AFP)

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the Judiciary Committee's ranking member, were also in attendance.

"The president ... gave everyone in the room, Democrats and Republicans, the opportunity to put forward their own suggestions for potential Supreme Court nominees," Earnest told reporters. "The president didn't guarantee that he would choose that person, but the president did indicate that he would take seriously any recommendations that either Democrats or Republicans had to put forward."

Tuesday's meeting showed that, in his "lame-duck" year, Obama is, at the very least, willing to listen to suggestions from the other side of the aisle. However, it is still not known who Obama has in mind as Scalia's replacement, and thus far, Earnest has not confirmed the existence of a short list.

Last week, Nevada Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval was mentioned as a potential nominee, but he quickly responded and said that he didn't want the job.

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