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 A bruising political fight is brewing over the nomination, which
also promises to figure in the already contentious campaign for the
Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election. The Republican-led Senate's
leaders have vowed not to hold confirmation hearings or an
up-or-down vote on any Obama nominee.
Garland, 63, was picked to replace long-serving conservative Justice
Antonin Scalia, who died on Feb. 13. A Chicagoan like Obama, he
serves as chief judge of the influential U.S. Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia Circuit and is a former prosecutor who in
the past has won praise from both Republicans and Democrats.
Wasting no time in pressing its case for Senate confirmation, the
administration is dispatching Garland to Capitol Hill on Thursday to
huddle with Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the senior Judiciary
Committee Democrat and then with Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid
of Nevada.
Such meetings are aimed at shoring up Senate support for the nominee
and generating media coverage. The lifetime appointment to the high
court requires Senate confirmation.
Obama's announcement prompted a flood of reaction from private
groups that will work to advance or kill the nomination.
The UAW, representing automobile, aerospace and some agricultural
workers, call Garland "a distinguished, moderate judge with more
federal judicial experience than any other Supreme Court nominee in
history."
National Rifle Association Executive Director Chris Cox said, "A
basic analysis of Merrick Garland’s judicial record shows that he
does not respect our fundamental, individual right to keep and bear
arms for self-defense."
Republicans, hoping a candidate from their party wins the
presidential election, are demanding that Obama leave the seat
vacant and let his successor, to be sworn in next January, make the
selection. Billionaire businessman Donald Trump is leading among
Republicans for the nomination. Obama's former secretary of state,
Hillary Clinton, is the front-runner for the Democrats.
Obama said Republican senators should give Garland a fair hearing.
He said that failing to do so "will not only be an abdication of the
Senate’s constitutional duty, it will indicate a process for
nominating and confirming judges that is beyond repair."
Such a move, he said, would also undermine the reputation of the
Supreme Court and faith in the American justice system. "Our
democracy will ultimately suffer as well," Obama added, as he
introduced Garland at a White House Rose Garden ceremony.
Scalia's death left the nine-member Supreme Court evenly split with
four liberals and four conservative justices. Obama's nominee could
tilt the court to the left for the first time in decades, which
could affect rulings on contentious issues including abortion, gun
rights, the death penalty and political spending.
Obama said the Supreme Court was supposed to be above politics and
it should remain so. Obama said that with politics in the United
States so polarized, "this is precisely the time when we should play
it straight, and treat the process of appointing a Supreme Court
justice with the seriousness and care it deserves."
 Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky swiftly
reiterated that the Senate will not consider the nomination by the
president. A McConnell spokesman said the senator had spoken by
phone with Garland and would not hold a "perfunctory meeting" with
him.
John Cornyn of Texas, the second-ranking Senate Republican, added,
"This person will not be confirmed, so there's no reason going
through some motions and pretending like it will happen, because
it's not going to happen."
CRACKS IN MCCONNELL'S STRATEGY
Some cracks began appearing in McConnell’s strategy of completely
shutting out the nominee. A handful of Republican senators including
Susan Collins of Maine, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Jeff Flake of
Arizona, Mark Kirk of Illinois and Rob Portman of Ohio said they
would be willing to meet with Garland.
Collins said the Senate Judiciary Committee should hold confirmation
hearings.
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Judiciary Committee member Orrin Hatch, whose past support of
Garland was cited by Obama, said the pick does not change his view
"at this point" that no Obama nominee should be considered.
Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, who is in a tough re-election
battle, said, "Should Merrick Garland be nominated again by the next
president, I would be happy to carefully consider his nomination."
Garland is the oldest Supreme Court nominee since Republican Richard
Nixon in 1971 nominated Lewis Powell, who was 64. Presidents tend to
pick nominees younger than that so they can serve for decades and
extend a president's legacy. Obama may reason that the choice of an
older nominee might also entice Senate Republicans into considering
his selection.
Garland would become the fourth Jewish member of the nine-member
court. There are five Roman Catholics on the court. Obama considered
but passed over Garland when he made two prior Supreme Court
appointments.
With solid Republican support, the Senate voted in 1997 to confirm
Garland to his present job in a bipartisan 76-23 vote after he was
nominated by Democratic President Bill Clinton.
Garland is widely viewed as a moderate. He is a former prosecutor
who served in the Justice Department under Clinton. He oversaw the
prosecution in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing case including
securing the death penalty for the lead defendant, anti-government
militant Timothy McVeigh.
In his current post, he is known for narrow, centrist opinions and
rhetoric that is measured rather than inflammatory even when in
dissent.
KEEP WORKING, OBAMA TELLS SENATORS
Standing in between Obama and Vice President Joe Biden during the
Rose Garden ceremony, an emotional Garland referred to the Oklahoma
City bombing case, saying, "Once again, I saw the importance of
assuring victims and families that the justice system could work."
Obama said he fulfilled his constitutional duty by naming a nominee
and said it was time for the Senate to do its job. "Presidents do
not stop working in the final year of their term. Neither should a
senator," Obama said.
Obama, in office since 2009, has already named two justices to the
Supreme Court: Sonia Sotomayor, who at 55 became the first Hispanic
justice in 2009, and Elena Kagan, who was 50 when she became the
fourth woman ever to serve on the court in 2010.
Democrats praised his latest choice.
"If Merrick Garland can't get bipartisan support no one can,"
Democratic Senator Charles Schumer of New York said.
Hillary Clinton called Garland "a brilliant legal mind," urging the
Senate to move ahead with the confirmation process.
Trump said it was critical for Republicans to take back the White
House to avoid Democrats shaping the Supreme Court for decades to
come.
(Additional reporting by Julia Edwards, Joan Biskupic, Susan
Cornwell, Doina Chicau, Tim Ahmann, Susan Heavey, John Shiffman,
Lawrence Hurley and David Morgan; Writing by Will Dunham; Editing by
Frances Kerry and Grant McCool)
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