President Obama nominates D.C. Appeals Court Judge Merrick Garland for U.S. Supreme Court

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama nominated veteran appellate court judge Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, setting up a potentially ferocious political showdown with Senate Republicans who have vowed to block any Obama nominee.

Considered a moderate, Garland, 63, is currently chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. He was picked to replace long-serving conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, who died on Feb. 13.

Speaking in the White House Rose Garden as his administration girded for a fight, Obama urged Senate Republicans to consider the nomination, saying faith in the American justice system was at stake.

“I’ve 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, even-handedness and excellence,” Obama said.

“These qualities and his long commitment to public service have earned him the respect and admiration of leaders from both sides of the aisle (Democrats and Republicans).”

Senate confirmation is required for any nominee to join the bench and Scalia’s sudden death set off an election-year fight well before Obama made his choice.

Republicans, hoping a candidate from their party will win the Nov. 8 presidential election, are demanding that Obama leave the seat vacant and let the next president, to be sworn in next January, make the selection.

Senate Republicans, who control the chamber, have vowed not to hold confirmation hearings or a vote on any nominee picked by the Democratic president for the lifetime position on the court.

Obama said on Wednesday that if Senate Republicans refused to carry out their constitutional function to consider Garland‘s nomination, the reputation of the Supreme Court and faith in the American justice system would suffer.

“Our democracy will ultimately suffer as well,” Obama added.

“I have fulfilled my constitutional duty. Now it’s time for the Senate to do theirs. Presidents do not stop working in the final year of their term. Neither should a senator,” added Obama.

He said he hoped the Senate would vote to confirm Garland in time for him to join the court when it gets to work for its 2016-1017 term in October, adding Garland would start meeting with senators one-on-one on Thursday.

Garland is a long-time appellate judge and former prosecutor who Obama also considered when he filled two previous Supreme Court vacancies.

‘WORDS AND DEEDS’

Standing in between Obama and Vice President Joe Biden during the Rose Garden ceremony, Garland told Obama it was a great privilege to be nominated to the high court by a fellow Chicagoan.

“(A) life of public service is as much a gift to the person who serves as it is to those he is serving. And for me there could be no higher public service than serving as a member of the United States Supreme Court,” said Garland, who would become the fourth Jewish member of the nine-member court.

In a foreshadowing of the pressure campaign the White House and its allies plan to wage in the coming weeks, the White House noted that seven current Republican U.S. senators voted to confirm Garland to the DC Circuit court in 1997.

Garland, who has earned praise from lawmakers of both parties in the past, was named to his current job by Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1997, winning Senate confirmation in a 76-23 vote. Prior to that, he worked in the Justice Department during the Clinton administration.

Federal appeals court judge Sri Srinivasan had also been a finalist for the nomination.

Without Scalia, the nine-member Supreme Court is 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.

Republicans are hoping to keep the vacancy until the new president takes office, and hoping their candidate wins. Currently, billionaire Donald Trump is the leading Republican presidential candidate while Obama’s former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, is the front-runner on the Democratic side.

Republicans and their allies already have geared up to fight Obama’s nominee. The Republican National Committee on Monday announced the formation of a task force that will work with an outside conservative group to spearhead attack ads and other ways of pushing back against Obama’s choice.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has served as a springboard to the Supreme Court for several justices including Scalia in recent decades.

Obama may have been looking for a nominee who could convince the Republicans to change course. Garland could fit that bill with his moderate record, background as a prosecutor and history of drawing Republican support.

Garland was under consideration by Obama when he filled two prior high court vacancies. 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.

Presidents tend to pick nominees younger than Garland, so they can serve for decades and extend a president’s legacy. But Obama may reason that the choice of an older nominee might also entice Senate Republicans into considering Obama’s selection.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama nominated veteran appellate court Judge Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, setting up political showdown with Senate Republicans who have vowed to block any Obama nominee.

Following is a selection of reaction to the decision:

MITCH MCCONNELL, SENATE REPUBLICAN LEADER:

“The American people may well elect a President who decides to nominate Judge Garland for Senate consideration. 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.”

CHARLES SCHUMER, DEMOCRATIC U.S. SENATOR OF NEW YORK :

“If Merrick Garland can’t get bipartisan support no one can. … We hope the saner heads in the Republican Party will prevail on (U.S. Senator) Chuck Grassley and (Senate Majority Leader) Mitch McConnell to do their job and hold hearings so America can make its own judgment as to whether Merrick Garland belongs on the court.”

PAUL RYAN, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SPEAKER, THE TOP ELECTED U.S. REPUBLICAN:

“This has never been about who the nominee is. It is about a basic principle. Under our Constitution, the president has every right to make this nomination, and the Senate has every right not to confirm a nominee.”

HILLARY CLINTON, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE:

“Evaluating and confirming a Justice to sit on this nation’s highest court should not be an exercise in political brinkmanship and partisan posturing. It is a serious obligation … That obligation does not depend on the party affiliation of a sitting president, nor does the Constitution make an exception to that duty in an election year.”

NANCY PELOSI, HOUSE DEMOCRATIC LEADER:

“Judge Garland has the experience and the legal acumen to serve on the highest court in the land. … The American people expect Judge Merrick Garland to be given a fair hearing and a timely vote.”

REINCE PRIEBUS, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN:

“When Americans head to the polls in a few short months, they will have a unique opportunity to determine the direction of the court – President Obama is doing a disservice to voters with this attempt to tip the balance of the court with a liberal justice in the eleventh hour of his presidency.” 

ROB PORTMAN, REPUBLICAN U.S. SENATOR OF OHIO

“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.”

LORETTA LYNCH, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL:

“His (Garland‘s) impeccable credentials, steadfast fidelity to the law and firm devotion to the public interest make him an outstanding choice to sit on our nation’s highest court, where I am certain he will serve with integrity and wisdom.”

MARK KIRK, REPUBLICAN U.S. SENATOR OF ILLINOIS:

“The Senate’s constitutionally defined role to provide advice and consent is as important as the president’s role in proposing a nominee, and I will assess Judge Merrick Garland based on his record and qualifications.”

JOE MANCHIN, DEMOCRATIC U.S. SENATOR OF WEST VIRGINIA:

“I look forward to evaluating Merrick Garland’s qualifications to be a justice on the Supreme Court. Senators have a constitutional obligation to advise and consent on a nominee to fill this Supreme Court vacancy and, simply put, we have a responsibility to do our jobs as elected officials.

PAT TOOMEY, REPUBLICAN U.S. SENATOR OF PENNSYLVANIA:

“Should Merrick Garland be nominated again by the next president, I would be happy to carefully consider his nomination.”