Thomson ReutersSenator Grassley speaks to reporters before voting on Capitol Hill in WashingtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley has invited Judge Merrick Garland to breakfast, but absent from the menu will be any promise of hearings on President Barack Obama’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. Susan Collins, R-Maine, sat down with Garland for more than an hour this morning, discussing topics like the Second Amendment, executive overreach and the role and perceptions of the court. “Senator McConnell’s strategy of no meetings, no hearings, no vote is an untenable position”.
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“We view Senator Hatch as being someone who may be willing to surrender to President Obama on this vacancy”, says Jason Pye, communications director for FreedomWorks.
“I’m confident that he’s committed to ensuring the American people have an opportunity to make their voices heard during this pivotal election, and that the Senate should consider the nominee submitted by the next president”, Grassley said.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee, however, said in a statement that the White House and Senate Democrats’ collective efforts “have gained zero ground toward confirming Garland”, adding Democrats’ tactics “targeting specific Republican Senators have completely backfired”.
Garland will also meet Tuesday with Democratic Sens. “There will be no hearings and no votes”.
Garland has several more meetings this week, all with Democrats. The advocates, who include former judges, current and former elected officials, and military veterans, met with their home-state senators throughout the day.
Collins said she was not optimistic she would be able to sway enough of her fellow Republicans to begin a formal confirmation process during this volatile and unpredictable presidential and congressional election year.
At a town hall in Cimarron, Kansas, last month, Moran said a nomination hearing should go forward despite his opposition to Garland’s record.
The Democrat scheduled the meeting Tuesday at his Senate office in Washington.
Two other Republican senators, Mark Kirk of IL and Jerry Moran of Kansas have spoken in favor of a confirmation hearing, although Mr. Moran later backtracked after a considerable outcry from conservatives. Kirk, like Collins, has publically called for others in the party to meet with the nominee. It’s clear that the real goal is to keep the court’s majority filled with conservative justices who will prioritize the interests of the powerful above the fundamental rights of everyday Americans. “But we really don’t know what’s going to happen in this very odd political year, so I think what we should do is follow the normal process with the nominee that has been sent up by the president, and that to me is the best way to proceed”.
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As Senator Moran has said, he is opposed to President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee.
