Hatch on his chat with POTUS on SCOTUS [UPDATED]

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who will play a significant role in the Supreme Court confirmation hearings in his position on the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the follow description of his discussion with the president about the Supreme Court opening on Monday.

Statement from the Office of Senator Orrin Hatch:

In a phone conversation today, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) urged President Obama against choosing a judicial activist for the Supreme Court vacancy. He advised the president to choose a nominee who is more in step with mainstream America and would uphold the rule of law. The president assured Hatch that this was his intention, that he would appoint a pragmatist, not a radical, to this important position.

Obama also reached out to Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.), the newly-minted Democrat, who also sits on the committee.

UPDATE: The White House just sent out the following reading out of the president’s conversations with Specter and Hatch:

READOUT OF PRESIDENT’S CALLS TO SENATORS HATCH AND SPECTER TODAY

Following through on his commitment to reach out to Democrats and Republicans in the Senate as he searches for and appoints a nominee to replace Justice Souter on the Supreme Court, President Obama telephoned two members of the Senate Judiciary Committee today. He vowed to consult regularly with Senators in both parties to ensure an orderly confirmation process that will allow Justice Souter’s replacement to be confirmed by the beginning of the Court’s next session.

jeremy.jacobs@digital-release.thehill.com