the game's afoot...

     This, from Senator Elizabeth Warren, is making the rounds on The Social Media:

     Well spotted, Senator Warren, well spotted. There is no such clause. In fact, you will not find in The Consitution a clause that requires the Senate to do anything in particular. Article 2, Section 2 makes that clear:

'...and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, [the President] shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.'

     The Senate can move with alacrity to a floor vote; the Senate can lollygag about as committee after committee vet chronologically a nominee's personal and professional life. If a gaggle of Senators wants to block a nominee, they are welcome to try. It is the prerogative of the Senate if so moved to allow a nomination to wither and die. Whether any given gaggle can so move the Senate is an open question. We answer it by means of all the Politics.      

     So, Senator Warren, you are correct, but what you say is not the whole truth. I do applaud your embrace of a plain-text reading of the Constitution, and encourage you to read farther, and deeper, in that work and the works of those who drafted it and saw it through a rather punishing ratification. (Hint - that was some first class Politics right there.) As you read the text, you might find all Penumbras disappear, but that is intermediate to advanced reading. For now, focus on the Article at hand concerning the various powers and prerogatives of the President and the Senate with regard to the appointment of Supremes. It will take practice, but with determined hard work you will improve over time. I have faith in your abilities.