Tag Archives: Merrick Garland

Talking Points Memo reports: In 2016, when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced Republicans’ plan to keep the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat open until the next president took office, a year away, he issued a conclusive statement. “The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy …

The Washington Post reports: Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) privately urged President Trump in a phone call earlier this week to nominate federal Judge Merrick B. Garland, then President Barack Obama’s third nominee to the Supreme Court who was summarily shunned by Senate Republicans in 2016, to replace retiring Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. Trump had called Schumer on …

The Washington Examiner reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s former chief of staff, Josh Holmes, on Sunday declared his old boss’s strong support for the potential nomination of Merrick Garland as FBI director. “I think the Senate majority leader thinks that’s a fantastic idea,” Holmes said during a panel discussion on “Fox News Sunday.” He was reacting to Sen. Mike …

Politico reports: The air war over Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee is already beginning, less than two weeks after the election. The conservative Judicial Crisis Network is launching an ad buy of more than $175,000 to applaud Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) for holding the line against President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland. Grassley never allowed Garland …

But only if Hillary wins, of course. The Hill reports: The conservative group Heritage Action is pushing Republican senators to keep the Supreme Court at eight justices if Democrat Hillary Clinton is elected president. In a Thursday morning briefing at the Heritage Foundation’s Washington headquarters on Capitol Hill, the group said Republicans should embrace the idea of leaving the Supreme …

The Washington Post reports: Speaking to reporters after a campaign rally for a Republican U.S. Senate candidate here, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) said that there was “precedent” for a Supreme Court with fewer than nine justices — appearing to suggest that the blockade on nominee Merrick Garland could last past the election. “You know, I think there will be plenty …

Politico reports: Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake has maintained for months that Republicans should take up Merrick Garland’s Supreme Court nomination if it looks like the presidential contest is a lost cause for the GOP. It’s looking about that time, Flake said in an interview on Thursday. “I said if we were in a position like we were in in …

In a lengthy interview with the New York Times, Ruth Bader Ginsburg jokingly suggested emigrating to New Zealand if Trump wins. The article begins: Unless they have a book to sell, Supreme Court justices rarely give interviews. Even then, they diligently avoid political topics. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg takes a different approach. These days, she is making no secret of …

Via Buzzfeed: President Obama is discussing his nominee for the Supreme Court with BuzzFeed News Legal Editor Chris Geidner in a live interview from the White House. Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland to the nation’s highest court after Justice Antonin Scalia died in February. Garland currently is the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. …

Politico reports: RedState has a message for Senate Republicans: Confirm Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court now — before Hillary Clinton picks someone much worse next year. Leon Wolf, the managing editor of conservative blog RedState.com, wrote in a post Wednesday that with Ted Cruz dropping out of the race for the GOP nomination and Donald Trump positioned to take …

Politico reports: A deep-pocketed conservative advocacy group opposing Merrick Garland is spending a half-million dollars in five states for a new ad proclaiming that the Supreme Court nominee is “no moderate” — the latest phase of its pricey anti-Garland campaign. The ad from Judicial Crisis Network will start running on TV and online Friday in West Virginia, Colorado, North Dakota, …

The Hill reports: Ted Cruz is leading a conservative effort to end any chance of a lame-duck congressional session at the end of the year. Cruz, a freshman senator from Texas running for president, and right-leaning groups see huge dangers in having a session after the November elections, which they think could be used to move legislation backed by President …

From the Agenda Project: Today, the Agenda Project Action Fund released a new ad calling on Senator Chuck Grassley to “Quit Stalling” and hold a hearing on President Obama’s pick for the Supreme Court. “Republicans like Senator Grassley have again and again demonstrated just how highly they view the American public,” said Agenda Project Action Fund President Erik Altieri, “Stop …

Via Talking Points Memo: President Barack Obama railed against the Republican senators who are stalling a consideration of his Supreme Court nominee, D.C. circuit judge Merrick Garland and vowed to support him through his term as President in an interview aired Sunday. I think there’s no doubt that Democrats and Republicans have gotten into a fix inside the Senate in …

This morning GOP Sen. Mark Kirk tweeted out the above message from President Obama thanking him for meeting with SCOTUS nominee Merrick Garland. Right wingers on Twitter are responding with messages like “Get used to saying SENATOR Tammy Duckworth.” But not if the HRC has their way, amirite?

As I noted a few days ago, the Judicial Crisis Network was known as the Judicial Confirmation Network before President Obama took office. Clip recap: A Media Matters investigation of the discredited right-wing group Judicial Crisis Network (JCN), the main source of baseless smears against, and false characterizations of, Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, reveals a familial web of self-dealing …

Via Politico: There are plenty of plausible reasons why Republicans might eventually fold in the standoff over the Supreme Court: Overwhelming public opinion, a Democratic pressure campaign, and vulnerable GOP senators trying to save their jobs, to name a few. But there’s another even more persuasive reason they won’t: The wrath of the right wing. The activist right has been …

Last night Rachel Maddow asked this of Bernie Sanders: “If you get the Democratic nomination and you are elected president in November, would you ask President Obama to withdraw that nomination in a lame duck so you could name your own nominee?” Sanders responded: “Yes, I would. I think I’m 100% prepared to support Judge Garland. I think he’s clearly …

The Hill reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Wednesday shot down the idea of Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland getting a hearing. McConnell insisted in a floor speech that the vacancy should be filled by the next president. “The next justice could fundamentally alter the direction of the Supreme Court and have a profound impact on our country, …

From Lambda Legal: “With President Obama’s nomination of Judge Garland to the Supreme Court, we call upon members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to fulfill their constitutional duty and ensure Judge Garland is given a complete and timely review. We encourage them to ask comprehensive and probing questions to evaluate Judge Garland’s ability to be a fair and impartial member …