President Bush has nominated Judge John Roberts to succeed the late William Rehnquist as chief justice of the Supreme Court. The 50-year-old Roberts is currently serving as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. President Bush’s announcement comes just two days after Rehnquist died in his Virginia home at the age of 80. He had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer a year ago. President Nixon appointed Rehnquist to the court in 1972. He had served as Chief Justice since 1986 and oversaw the court’s shift to the right. The Court now has two vacancies for the first time in over 30 years. In July, President Bush had nominated Roberts to fill Sandra Day O”Connor”s seat. His Senate nomination hearings had been scheduled to open on Tuesday. But it is not clear if the hearings will now be postponed. Democrats had been calling for the Roberts hearings to be postponed on account of the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Hurricane Katrina. Chief Justice Rehnquist’s body will lie in repose at the Supreme Court Tuesday and Wednesday before a funeral at Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday.