Gov. Paul LePage says President Obama should nominate a successor to the recently deceased Justice Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court.

LePage followed former Maine governor and U.S. Sen. Angus King’s lead in supporting Obama as the person who should nominate a replacement for Scalia as outlined by the U.S. Constitution, the Sun Journal reported.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and others have called on Obama to let the next president make the nomination.

But LePage says he would follow the Constitution, which King said makes the process “perfectly clear.”

LePage declined to discuss the politics behind the judicial appointment, saying he’s more concerned about running the state.

The governor’s office said in a news release Saturday night that LePage was among many who paid respects to Scalia while the late justice lay in repose Friday at the Supreme Court.

“The thousands of people who paid their respects yesterday, as well as those who filled the Basilica today for his funeral Mass, are a testament to the American people’s admiration of this brilliant man, who was our nation’s leading conservative voice,” LePage said in a statement Saturday.

Following Saturday’s Mass, LePage ordered all American and state flags on public buildings and grounds in Maine returned to full staff.

 


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