Today, Grassley admits that “conservative groups are very much behind” his obstructionism as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he has refused to so much as hold a hearing on President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.
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It is customary for nominees to meet one-on-one with every senator ahead of confirmation hearings, however many Republicans are pledging to block the confirmation process and some are refusing even to meet with Judge Garland. But GOP Senate leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., are sticking to their vow not to act on Garland’s nomination, saying the next president should choose a successor for Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February.
Roberts was nominated by Republican President George W. Bush and Grassley’s critique put Democrats in the unusual position of defending someone many in their caucus had opposed for the high court in 2005.
All nine of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Democratic members will have met with Garland by the end of Monday, while none of the Republican members have sat down with the nominee yet.
Obama will lead a discussion at the University of Chicago Law School with students and faculty.
During a town hall-style event, Obama was questioned about the Democratic race to replace him, which he said hadn’t reached almost the level of rancor as the Republican side.
“I’m sure he’ll gloss over the fact that the decision about filling this pivotal seat could impact our country for decades, that it could dramatically affect our most cherished constitutional rights like those contained in the First and Second Amendments”, McConnell said in a Senate floor speech, referring to gun rights and freedom of speech and religion.
Meanwhile, Garland will continue showing up on Senate doorsteps with a handshake and hopes of one day hearing members vote “yea” or “nay” on his nomination. “I think it is a decision made by the Republicans to deny President Barack Obama his authority”. It included a photo of a hand-written note from Obama, who thanked the Republican for his “fair and responsible” treatment of Garland.
“At no point did I say, ‘Oh, I need a black lesbian from Skokie”, Obama said, referencing the small Chicago suburb where Garland was raised.
“It upholds the institutional values of the Senate, and helps preserve the bipartisan ideals of an independent judiciary”, Obama wrote in the note, which Kirk posted on social media Thursday. He noted that Garland follows his earlier nominations of Sonia Sotomayor, a Latina, and Elena Kagan, who is Jewish, to the high court. “Yeah he’s a white guy, but he’s a really outstanding jurist”.
From Chicago, Obama is heading to California to raise money for Democrats at events through late Friday. He was joined on his trip by daughter Malia Obama, who is expected to start college in the fall and has toured colleges on the West Coast.
In an interview with “Fox News Sunday”, Obama was asked by host Chris Wallace if he would consider pulling Garland’s nomination if Hillary Clinton is elected president.
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President Barack Obama speaks to students and faculty at the University of Chicago Law School, where he taught constitutional law for over a decade in Chicago, Thursday, April 7, 2016.
