--- title: Ted Cruz Will Filibuster Obama’s Supreme Court Nomination description: Ted Cruz pledged to filibuster any appointee President Obama nominates to fill Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. canonical: https://time.com/4224367/ted-cruz-filibuster-obama-supreme-court/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-14T15:17:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T09:13:22.370Z article:section: Politics og:title: Ted Cruz Says He Will Filibuster Obama’s Supreme Court Nomination og:description: "This should be a decision for the people" og:url: https://time.com/4224367/ted-cruz-filibuster-obama-supreme-court/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d2ca3e0a08bc45a/69887d9f428a9e4448cd1650/ted-cruz-filibuster-obama.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Republican Presidential Candidates Address Faith And Family Forum In S. Carolina og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ted Cruz Says He Will Filibuster Obama’s Supreme Court Nomination twitter:description: "This should be a decision for the people" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d2ca3e0a08bc45a/69887d9f428a9e4448cd1650/ted-cruz-filibuster-obama.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ted Cruz Says He Will Filibuster Obama’s Supreme Court Nomination  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Feb 14, 2016 3:17 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) briefs members of the media before he participates in the South Carolina Faith and Family Presidential Forum on Feb. 12 in Greenville, South Carolina. Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) briefs members of the media before he participates in the South Carolina Faith and Family Presidential Forum on Feb. 12 in Greenville, South Carolina.Alex Wong-Getty Images  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Feb 14, 2016 3:17 PM UTC Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz on Sunday [pledged to filibuster](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/week-transcript-ted-cruz-john-kasich-marco-rubio/story?id=36918872) any appointee President Obama nominates to fill [Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat](http://time.com/4220770/antonin-scalia-influence/?1&xid=homepage) on the U.S. Supreme Court. The Texas senator said he would prolong the process of the president selecting a new successor to the bench after Scalia’s death. “This should be a decision for the people,” Cruz told ABC News’ _This Week_ host George Stephanopoulos. “Let the election decide it. If the Democrats want to replace this nominee, they need to win the election.” Obama said he plans to make a nomination “in due time.” He also said the Senate would “fulfill its responsibility to give that person a fair hearing and a timely vote.” The death of the conservative Scalia has [upended the Republican party](http://time.com/4220762/antonin-scalia-dead-republican-party-senate-congress/?xid=homepage) and could change the Supreme Court, which previously swung 5-4 conservative. “Right now, the court is exquisitely balanced,” Cruz said. “This next selection needs to be a referendum on the court. 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