George Washington was actually the first to make a Supreme Court appointment during an election year, which he did in 1796, the year of the race between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.
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The White House said after a two-week Senate recess, Garland will meet with the Judiciary Committee chairman, Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley. Garland was scheduled to begin the customary meetings with senators that typically kick off the confirmation process.
On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said his chamber would not hold hearings, vote, or even meet with any nominee.
In 2010, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, called Garland “terrific” and said he could be confirmed “virtually unanimously”.
Insalaco also said he knows Garland personally and knows of his integrity, his legal ability, his acumen and his honesty.
“I believe the American people deserve to have a voice in the direction of the court”, she said in a statement released soon after Obama announced he picked Garland.
Many Republicans believe the next justice should be nominated by the President-elect of the 2016 contest, while many Democrats believe it is Obama’s duty to nominate another judge during the remainder of his presidency.
“I think it would be a mistake”, the Texas Republican said when asked about considering the nominee in a lame-duck session after the elections.
That will be a hard sell because Republicans control the Senate, which must confirm any nominee, and GOP leaders want to leave the choice to the next president, denying Obama a chance to alter the ideological balance of the court before he leaves office next January.
One of the most liberal presidents in our country’s history is now responsible for replacing one of the most conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court. “This is not a win for President Obama”.
Republicans have vowed to block any Obama nominee, saying the vacancy on the nation’s highest court should be filled by the next president.
Judge Garland appears to be an excellent jurist.
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Obama accused McConnell of having a double standard on whether he should nominate Scalia’s replacement. As a federal prosecutor, he oversaw the investigation and prosecutions in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing case and the case against Unabomber Ted Kaczynski. Grassley said he was trying at the time to reduce the number of judges on the D.C. circuit and add judges to courts that were struggling with heavier caseloads.
