The appearance of a break in the ranks with Senate Republicans over Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, seems to have turned out to be just that-an appearance.
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“Our bosses, the residents of CT really deserve more from us than this, I think”, McLachlan said.
In all, close to 20 GOP senators have said they are willing to meet Garland, though most, like Boozman, oppose letting the confirmation process progress. According to the latest CNN poll, 55% of Republicans want McConnell to allow hearings to be held on the Garland nomination. “However, I believe we can disagree without being disagreeable, which is why I accepted the request of the White House to meet with Judge Garland”.
U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican from Dardanelle, “has no plans to meet with Judge Garland”, the lawmaker’s spokesman said. Rob Portman will be meeting with President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee next Thursday morning (April 14), But he’s cautioning that nothing more should be read into that. Boozman downplayed the meeting, not disclosing when it would take place or inviting reporters into his office to take pictures of the two, as other senators have done. But if the next president is a Democrat, it’s certainly conceivable that she or he might choose a nominee who is far to Judge Garland’s left.
“If I can meet with a dictator in Uganda, I can surely meet with a decent person in America”, Grassley had said.
It’s worth noting that D.C. Circuit Judge Sri Srinivasan, who was nominated by President Obama in June 2012 and again in January 2013, was in fact confirmed by a 97-0 vote in May 2013. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who has also been critical of her party leadership’s decision not to hold a hearing or vote on Garland.
A Washington-based conservative group, FreedomWorks, criticized the decision of Boozman and other Republicans to sit down with Garland.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, who believes Grassley could under enough pressure flip his position, blamed the Iowan also for slowing down confirmations of lower court judges.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, and Judiciary Committee Republicans are refusing to do their job and failing to fulfill their constitutional duty of considering a Supreme Court nominee.
In comments after a private meeting of the Republican conference, McConnell said he is not budging despite an all-out effort from Democrats and progressive activists over the congressional recess to pressure GOP senators – especially those up for re-election – to reconsider their opposition to Garland. She said her meeting with him Tuesday only reinforced that position. There have been Democrats who have blocked Republican nominees, including when President Obama participated in a filibuster to try to block Justice Alito from being named to the court.
But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., made clear he is not budging, telling reporters, “I think it’s safe to say there will not be hearings or votes”. And I think it’s been very helpful, because the left is all in a stew.
His Democratic challenger, former U.S. Attorney Conner Eldridge, said Boozman should stop being an “obstructionist” and give Garland a fair hearing. “Republican senators should not help the White House by meeting with the nominee”.
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“If we held that bar for every single bill that we did on that question, then we may be not taking up important policy or other types of legislation that is deemed important by us to at least debate or discuss”, Duff said.
