Only a small number of the U.S. Senate’s 54 Republicans – most visibly Illinois’ Mark Kirk, who is up for re-election – have left the door open to considering an Obama nominee to the court. John Cornyn was working with the President to help fill a number of vacant seats on the state’s federal judicial bench.
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American president Barack Obama on Wednesday nominated Merrick Garland as the Supreme Court judge over Indian- American Sri Srinivasan, in a significant move that could trigger a showdown with Senate Republicans who have warned the US President against taking a decision in an election year. Cochran’s office said Wednesday the senator has no comment on Garland’s qualifications.
“The president has done his job in nominating this exemplary jurist”, Klobuchar said.
Cornyn said a judge’s political ideologies don’t show up as often at the federal district level as they do on the Supreme Court.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who vowed to block any Supreme Court nomination of Obama’s, has stood his ground regarding Garland.
Frank said the first step for Judge Garland is to meet with individual senators.
Some Republicans believe the next president should be the one to make the nomination.
He would replace conservative, Justice Antonin Scalia, who died unexpectedly last month, leaving behind a bitter election-year fight over the future of the court.
“Of the many powers and responsibilities that the Constitution vests in the presidency, few are more consequential than appointing a Supreme Court justice”, said Obama. In fact, Obama was the first president since 1956 to win 51 percent of the vote twice.
“If Republicans choose to shirk their constitutional duty, I’m not sure why they’re even in the Senate”, Franken said.
Garland led the investigation into the Oklahoma City bombing case.
A coalition of pro-life groups launched a grassroots initiative Thursday to encourage pro-life senators to hold to their position that they won’t approve the president’s Supreme Court nominees in an election year. “We should do the job we were elected to do”.
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Rep. Bennie Thompson, the lone Democrat in the MS delegation, urged senators to “set aside their political and personal grudges against the president and consider this nominee for confirmation”.
