WASHINGTON — Sen. Ted Cruz’s suggestion of an indefinite Supreme Court vacancy under a President Hillary Clinton raises questions about the credibility and integrity of Republicans who have said the next president should get to the choose who fills the vacancy, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Thursday.

Cruz is the second GOP senator in recent weeks to suggest that Republicans will block any nominee Clinton puts forward if she becomes president. Arizona Sen. John McCain made a similar assertion, though an aide later said that McCain would examine the record of anyone nominated for the high court and vote for or against that person based on qualifications.

Earnest was asked about Cruz’s comments noting a long historical precedent for a Supreme Court operating with fewer justices.

“Just recently, Justice (Stephen) Breyer observed that the vacancy is not impacting the ability of the court to do its job. That’s a debate that we are going to have,” Cruz said.

Earnest replied that the notion of opposing any nomination put forward by a Democratic president would be inconsistent with longstanding Senate tradition. He said historically that the Senate has evaluated candidates based on their merits.