Makes no diff.
Hasn’t been mentioned much on FR, but Judiciary Chair Grassley repeats forcefully almost every day that there will be NO hearings on Obama nominees.
McConnell would have to remove Grassley as Judiciary Chair if Mitch wants the Obama appointee.
If you can’t pick your friends, what is the point of even having the authority to nominate prospective members for the Supreme Court?
The Current Occupant, even in a fit of contrarian thinking, would never submit the name of any potential jurist he thought would be remotely acceptable to persons who believe in the sanctity of the law. Compliance with Constitutional principles is just not in his nature.
“Constitutional scholar” my aching, er, foot. The Current Occupant only ever studied the Constitution because he was looking for loopholes.