Ryan on Scalia: ‘I learned so much from this man’

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) mourned the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia Saturday, calling the judge a “brilliant jurist.”

“Justice Scalia did more to advance originalism and judicial restraint than anyone in our time, and it all started with just two words: ‘I dissent,’ ” Ryan said in a statement.

“The passing of this brilliant jurist is a great loss, but his writings — with their plain language and constitutional moorings — will guide generations to come.”

Scalia was found dead Saturday in a hunting resort in West Texas. He was 79.

“A devout Catholic, he was fond of quoting St. Paul, who commanded us to ‘think soberly.’ That Justice Scalia did, always, and our republic is better for it,” added Ryan, the Speaker is also Catholic.

“I learned so much from this man. I knew him. I respected him. I looked up to him. We all did. Tonight, Janna and I offer our sympathy and prayers to Justice Scalia’s family.”

Ryan in his statement did not address whether President Obama should be allowed to fill the court vacancy. The job of confirming Supreme Court nominees falls to the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has already said that Obama should not be allowed to fill the court vacancy.

“The American people‎ should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice,” McConnell said in a statement. “Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new President.”

McConnell’s position was backed by the chairman of the Senate Judicary Committee, which vets Supreme Court nominees.

“The fact of the matter is that it’s been standard practice over the last 80 years to not confirm Supreme Court nominees during a presidential election year,” said Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa.)

“Given the huge divide in the country, and the fact that this President, above all others, has made no bones about his goal to use the courts to circumvent Congress and push through his own agenda, it only makes sense that we defer to the American people who will elect a new president to select the next Supreme Court Justice.”