On Merrick Garland
Some key quotes about President Barack Obama’s nomination of appeals court judge Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court:
“Over my seven years as president, in all my conversations with senators from both parties in which I asked their views on qualified Supreme Court nominees...the one name that has come up repeatedly from Republicans and Democrats alike is Merrick Garland.” — President Barack Obama.“This is the greatest honor of my life, other than Lynn agreeing to marry me 28 years ago. It’s also the greatest gift I have ever received except, and there’s another caveat, the birth of our daughters.” — Judge Merrick Garland.
“Judge Garland has earned a reputation for fairness and the respect of colleagues across the ideological spectrum.” — Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
“He may very well be a very good nominee, I voted for him earlier. But it’s not about the nominee, it’s about the process.” — Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., one of seven still-serving GOP senators who voted for Garland’s 1997 judicial confirmation.
“Republicans now face a choice between blindly taking their marching orders from Donald Trump, or doing their jobs and providing fair consideration to this highly-qualified nominee.” — Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
“A lifetime appointment that could dramatically impact individual freedoms and change the direction of the court for at least a generation is too important to get bogged down in politics.” — Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, Senate Judiciary Committee chairman.
“In the name of fairness and our Constitution, the Senate Republican majority must do its job and give Judge Garland a public hearing and a timely vote.” — Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Senate Democratic leader.
“For more than eighty years, there has not been a nomination and confirmation of a Supreme Court Justice in a presidential election year and now is not the time to break with bipartisan practice.” — Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus.
“Americans are counting on the Senate to do its job by considering the president’s nominee, hold a hearing and a vote.” — National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen García.