“I think President Obama tried to pick someone both exceptionally well-qualified and extremely fair and moderate”, Berger said during a phone interview Wednesday.
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As a top official in the U.S Justice Department, Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland oversaw the investigation that led to the convictions of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols for planning and carrying out the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Pingree hopes that the Senate follows regular procedure and considers and votes on Judge Garland’s nomination.
Eric Berger, a professor of constitutional law at UNL who once worked as a clerk for Garland, said Obama sought the best choice for the nation’s highest court.
Garland would replace Justice Antonin Scalia, who died suddenly last month, leaving the court evenly split with four liberals and four conservatives.
Voteview.com highlights how the odds are stacked against Garland; Senate Republicans have moved substantially to the right since ’97.
The Republicans’ presidential front-runner, Donald Trump, told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that Senate Republicans should block the nomination until a new president is elected. “I would like spend my time on things we can get done in a bipartisan way”. He is now the Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.
Garland, 63, is a long-time appellate judge and former prosecutor who Obama also considered when he filled two previous Supreme Court vacancies.
“As I have repeatedly stated, the election cycle is well under way and the precedent of the Senate is not to confirm a nominee at this stage in the process”, Scott said”.
Warren said she planned on meeting with Garland and closely reviewing his record, in order to come to decide on whether she will vote in favor of his nomination.
“It is a president’s constitutional right to nominate a Supreme Court justice, and it is the Senate’s constitutional right to act as a check on a president and withhold its consent”, GOP majority leader Sen.
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Almost 65 percent of Americans support the call for the U.S. Senate to hold hearings on the nomination. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell has repeatedly stated that he believes the American people will have a say in the new justice if the appointment is left to the next president.
