Obama selects Sotomayor for high court vacancy

President Obama on Tuesday chose federal appellate Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court, hoping to make her the first Hispanic and only the third woman ever to join the nation's highest bench. He immediately called on the Senate to act in "a bipartisan fashion" and confirm her in time for her to join the court in September.

Flanked by Vice President Joe Biden and Sotomayor, the president lauded both her judicial record and intellect. But he lavished his greatest praise on what he called her "inspiring life's journey," which carried the daughter of a Puerto Rican factory worker immigrant from the projects in the Bronx through Ivy League education and a varied career in the law.

Senate Republicans were low-key in their initial reactions, congratulating Sotomayor but promising a thorough investigation to determine if she is capable of making decisions based on the law rather than her personal views. With Democrats holding 59 seats in the Senate and some Republicans like Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine seemingly pleased by the choice, Republicans could be hard-pressed to block confirmation.

Still, Republicans could use the confirmation process to play to the party's conservative base and to play up the party's opposition to abortion rights. While Sotomayor, 54, is expected to replace retiring Justice David Souter as a reliably liberal vote, she has not offered any controversial opinions on the issue during her time on the bench.

"I firmly believe in the rule of law as the foundation for all of our basic rights," Sotomayor said. "For as long as I can remember, I have been inspired by the achievement of our founding fathers. They set forth principles that have endured for more than two centuries."

A senior administration official said the president had been struck by Sotomayor's life story and made his final decision around 8 p.m. Monday. The official, speaking on background, said the other finalists were Solicitor General Elena Kagan, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Judge Diane Wood of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

During the process of interviewing the finalists, Obama spoke with every member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Before this morning's announcement, Obama discussed his decision with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Judiciary ranking member Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.

Anticipating what Republicans are likely to stress in the upcoming confirmation hearings, the president stressed both Sotomayor's "mastery of the law" and her "recognition of the limits of the judicial role, an understanding that a judge's job is to interpret, not make law." But he said those qualities, alone, are "insufficient. We need something more." He said he also wanted "an understanding of how the world works and how ordinary people live."

Obama pointedly noted that she was first nominated to the federal bench by President George H.W. Bush. Republicans quickly noted that Bush's nomination was part of a deal with then-Sens. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a Democrat, and Alphonse D'Amato, a Republican, to fill vacancies on federal courts in New York.