Obama remarks on death of Antonin Scalia

EL PASO, Texas (WISH) — U.S. Supreme Court Justin Antonin Scalia has died, CNN reports. He was 79.

He was in Texas for a hunting trip, according to CNN. He told friends he wasn’t feeling well before going to bed Friday night.

He reportedly died in his sleep.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott released the following statement Saturday afternoon:

Justice Antonin Scalia was a man of God, a patriot, and an unwavering defender of the written Constitution and the Rule of Law. He was the solid rock who turned away so many attempts to depart from and distort the Constitution. His fierce loyalty to the Constitution set an unmatched example, not just for judges and lawyers, but for all Americans. We mourn his passing, and we pray that his successor on the Supreme Court will take his place as a champion for the written Constitution and the Rule of Law. Cecilia and I extend our deepest condolences to his family, and we will keep them in our thoughts and prayers.

Scalia was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to the Supreme Court in 1986, POLITICO reports. He was the first Italian-American to sit on the nation’s highest court.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence tweeted condolences.

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller also reacted to the passing of Scalia.

“Those of us who defend against an expansive interpretation of the written Constitution and those who argue for limitations upon the federal government have lost an advocate in Justice Scalia,” Zoeller said in a statement.