Democrats have criticized Portman, who is up for re-election this year, for siding with Republicans, such as Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader from Kentucky, who don’t want Obama to alter the court’s balance.
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The White House and Senate Democrats who back Garland are trying to increase the pressure on Senate Republicans to hold a hearing and vote on Garland. “It would have been the height of arrogance and might have led to impeachment”, said Bentley. “It was a cordial and pleasant meeting”. I know him personally, I know of his integrity, I know of his legal ability, I know of his honesty, I know of his acumen, and he belongs on the court.
After an hour-long meeting with Garland, Toomey lauded the judge’s intelligence but said he doubted he would be a “sufficiently aggressive check” on the Obama administration’s use of executive power. “Republicans have to decide how they’re going to answer the question about why their constituents can’t hear from Judge Garland”. “The right thing to do is to follow the rules, have a hearing, go through the process and not allow politics to be injected into this process”.
Garland is the chief judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. circuit.
This is the only point at which the government has a significant level of say about who we put on the court.
“Our job in the Senate is to learn about Judge Garland’s record, conduct hearings, and vote to confirm or deny his nomination”.
WASHINGTON (AP) Senate Democrats called on Republicans to vote on Merrick Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court by Memorial Day, as GOP lawmakers showed no sign of relenting despite the latest round of courtesy calls.
“With such an important position on the line for a lifetime appointment that will have an impact for decades on the country, it’s important to have the people of this country weigh in in November”, Ayotte said.
The vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court, following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, looks to continue to be an issue raised in New Hampshire’s vigorous Senate election.
Meeting with Chief Judge Garland, however, is only the first step. So far, Garland has met with three Senate Republicans, including Senator John Boozman of Arkansas.
The majority of Senate Republicans, including Wisconsin Sen.
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By refusing to uphold the last 60 years of standard practice in at least holding a hearing, McGarvey said the GOP is setting a unsafe new precedent.
