On Wednesday, March 16, President Obama said, “In putting forward a nominee today, I am fulfilling my constitutional duty. I’m doing my job. I hope that our Senators will do their jobs, and move quickly to consider my nominee. That is what the Constitution dictates, and that’s what the American people expect and deserve from their leaders.” Later in the day he announced that Merrick B. Garland, the Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C.
The opening on the bench is the result of the sudden death in February of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia.
Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader has vowed to never hold hearings on Garland’s nomination and told him in a phone call not to bother visiting his office.
Ohio Senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman issued statements later in the day commenting on the nomination of Garland.
Portman said:
“As I have said previously, I believe it is better for the country to allow the American people to have a voice in this debate. We are in the midst of a highly-charged presidential election that is less than eight months away, and this lifetime appointment could reshape the Supreme Court for generations. I believe the best thing for the country is to trust the American people and allow them to weigh in on this issue. This is the same position that Vice President Biden and Senators Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer have outlined in the past.
“This is about the principle, not the person. I believe that awaiting the result of a democratic election, rather than having a nomination fight in this partisan election-year environment, will give the nominee more legitimacy and better preserve the Court’s credibility as an institution. After the election, I look forward to considering the nominee of our new president. Whether the American people elect a Republican or Democrat, I will judge his or her nominee on the merits, as I always have.”
In his statement, Brown said:
Now it’s time for Senators to do our jobs. Senate Republicans have said they will refuse to even meet with this President’s nominee, much less hold a hearing and an up-or-down vote. But now we have an unquestionably qualified nominee who has earned support from both Republicans and Democrats in the past, so I expect my colleagues to put politics aside, do the job we were elected to do and give Judge Garland full and fair consideration. Anything less undermines our democracy.”
