President Obama nominates Merrick Garland for Supreme Court

In the wake Justice Scalia’s death and threats from GOP opposition in the Senate, President Obama nominates Merrick Garland for the open seat on the US Supreme Court.

Garland is a well-known moderate who has drawn bipartisan support over decades, therefore Obama is essentially daring Republicans to press their election-year confirmation fight over a judge.

“…I hope that they’ll act in a bipartisan fashion. I hope they are fair. That’s all. I hope they are fair.,” Obama said. “As they did when they confirmed Merrick Garland to the D.C. Circuit, I ask that they confirm Merrick Garland now to the Supreme Court so that he can take his seat in time to fully participate in its work for the American people this fall. He is the right man for the job. He deserves to be confirmed. I could not be prouder of the work that he has already done on behalf of the American people. He deserves our thanks and he deserves a fair hearing.”

President Obama photo/Memorial Day speech in Arlington National Cemetery, 2014 photo/screenshot of video coverage

“It is time for Republicans in the Senate to put country before party and give Judge Garland fair consideration, including a hearing and a vote. Republicans must abandon their unprecedented obstruction. Even for a majority that has taken obstruction to historic levels, this crass political play is a shameless new low. By refusing to even consider this nomination, Republicans are not just disrespecting Judge Garland and President Obama, they are disrespecting the Constitution. Republicans like to say voters should have a say in this process. We agree, and they did. They elected President Obama not once but twice knowing full well he would have the power to make this pick. President Obama has done his job. Now Senate Republicans need to do theirs.”

The conservative Judicial Crisis Network opposes Judge Merrick Garland’s nomination, saying the nominee “has a very liberal view of gun rights.”

JCN chief counsel Carrie Severino said in a blog post that Merrick’s record on the bench since 1997 “leads to the conclusion that he would vote to reverse one of Justice Scalia’s most important opinions, D.C. vs. Heller, which affirmed that the Second Amendment confers an individual right to keep and bear arms.”

Garland was appointed to the bench by Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1997, winning Senate confirmation by a vote of 76-23. Prior to that, he served in the Justice Department during the Clinton administration.

Sen. Mike Lee, Utah Republican and a member of the Judiciary Committee, reiterated Wednesday that the GOP won’t consider the nominee.

“In light of the contentious presidential election already well underway, my colleagues and I on the Judiciary Committee have already given our advice and consent on this issue: we will not have any hearings or votes on President Obama’s pick,” Lee said. “Any meeting with any nominee put forward by President Obama would only be a waste of the Senate’s time. The Court has very ably dealt with temporary absences in the past and will do so again now.”

Full transcript via TIME can be found here

photo Pearson Scott Foresman