President Obama nominates Merrick Garland to Supreme Court

Story by CNN
Written by Stephen Collinson, Kevin Liptak, Ariane de Vogue and Manu Raju

President Barack Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland, who is respected across political lines, to the Supreme Court Wednesday, in an epic power play targeting the resolve of Republicans who have vowed to block any replacement for the late Justice Antonin Scalia until a new president takes office.

GOP leaders, caught in the undertow of an election in which the conservative grass-roots are already in revolt, immediately renewed their refusal to consider Garland, 63, saying their reservations were not personal but motivated by a desire for the American people to weigh in on Scalia's replacement. The showdown is even more fraught than most Supreme Court fights, since Obama's choice could tilt the ideological balance of the court away from conservatives -- possibly for years.

Who is Merrick Garland?

In a speech in the evocative ceremonial surroundings of the White House Rose Garden, the President praised Garland as "one of America's sharpest legal minds," making a case that he was so eminently qualified for the job in terms of legal learning, experience and temperament that any attempt to ignore his appointment could only be the result of base political motivations.

"I have selected a nominee who is widely recognized not only as one of America's sharpest legal minds, but someone who brings to his work a spirit of decency modesty, integrity, evenhandedness and excellence," President Obama said. These qualities and his long commitment to public service have earned him the respect and admiration from leaders from both sides of the aisle."

Senate Republicans do not plan to vet or have hearings on Garland, let alone a vote on his nomination. Obama and Democrats argue that with 10 months left in his term, there is plenty of time for the Senate to take up and confirm a new justice. The gravity of the President's announcement on Wednesday was part of an attempt to pressure Republicans, especially senators with an eye on their own legacies or those who face tough re-election fights, to peel away from their leadership.

But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the GOP chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, have both expressed little leeway in their determination to forgo hearings for Obama's nominee.

"The American people may well elect a president who decides to nominate Judge Garland for Senate consideration," McConnell said Wednesday. "The next President may also nominate someone very different. Either way, our view is this: Give the people a voice in the filling of this vacancy."

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/16/politics/obama-supreme-court-announcement/index.html