The questionnaire is a standard part of the vetting process for judicial nominees, and Garland’s answers detail his employment history, all of the opinions he has written for the court and his pro bono work, among other information.
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Many people have speculated that the Republicans game plan has been that if they thought they were going to lose the presidential election they would rush to confirm President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the second-ranking Republican senator.
The meeting comes as the judge has completed a Senate Judiciary Questionnaire.
“If the question is qualifications and excellence, it is uniformly viewed by not just Democrats but also Republicans, those who have served – lawyers, judges, legal scholars, members of the current Supreme Court – that he is as good of a judge as we have in this country right now”, the President said.
Markey said if Senate Republicans refuse to hold a hearing on Garland’s nomination, it will be “an historic failure to do their job”.
Earlier Tuesday, the White House delivered to Capitol Hill the formal questionnaire court nominees must provide the Judiciary Committee, even though no hearings or votes are planned for Garland, who is now the chief judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.
Asked about the GOP nominee, Donald Trump, a reality-television star and real-estate developer, Grassley said he would like to meet Trump to discuss policy.
In Florida, voters approve of Garland by 18 points, with 51 percent support over 33 percent nonsupport.
Garland has served as chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. “Why are you trying to give him a chance to name the next Supreme Court justice?” Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, the White House said.
Scalia was one of the most conservative voices on the Supreme Court, and Republicans are concerned Garland would change the balance of the court.
But given that former senator and secretary of state Hillary Clinton will likely be that next president, McConnell and others in Senate leadership positions might want to reconsider. He says he can’t think of a fairer or more democratic process.
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Severino, whom Democrats are growing more familiar with as her group bombs their states with TV ads, insisted that the party would regret it if it responded to a Clinton victory by rejecting the overtures about Garland and pushing for a new “dream” nominee.
