Obama to pay respects at court, won't attend Scalia funeral

The Associated Press
February 17, 2016 at 11:38PM
President Barack Obama speaks to reporters about the death of Supreme Court Justice Justice Antonin Scalia at Omni Rancho Las Palmas in Rancho Mirage, CA. Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016. Scalia, 79, was found dead Saturday morning at a private residence in the Big Bend area of West Texas. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) ORG XMIT: MIN2016021323274179
President Barack Obama speaks to reporters about the death of Supreme Court Justice Justice Antonin Scalia at Omni Rancho Las Palmas in Rancho Mirage, CA. Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will visit the Supreme Court Friday to pay their respects as Justice Antonin Scalia lies in repose but won't attend Scalia's funeral.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Wednesday that Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden will attend the funeral on Saturday at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.

Scalia died on Saturday at age 79. He joined the court in 1986 and was its longest-serving justice.

Former Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who died in 2005, was the last member of the high court to lie in repose.

Obama has said he will nominate a replacement for Scalia with "plenty of time" for the Senate to act.

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KEVIN FREKING

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