The Senate’s No. 3 Democrat on Wednesday declared D.C. Circuit Judge Merrick Garland as a bipartisan choice for the Supreme Court who could win confirmation, despite ongoing Republican objections to considering any nominee until next year.
Schumer, who is poised to become Senate Democratic leader in 2017, was among the first in the Senate to react to President Obama’s announcement that the has chosen Garland to replace the late Associate Justice Antonin Scalia.
Republicans say they don’t plan to take up a nomination this year, which Schumer criticized Wednesday.
“If Merrick Garland can’t get bipartisan support, no one can,” Schumer said in a statement. “He is a thoughtful jurist with impeccable credentials who has already garnered overwhelming bipartisan support for a job that requires nearly the exact same criteria as a Supreme Court justice.”
“He gets the impact of the court’s decisions on hardworking Americans in the real world,” Schumer added. “We hope the saner heads in the Republican Party will prevail on Chuck Grassley and Mitch McConnell to do their job and hold hearings so America can make its own judgement as to whether Merrick Garland belongs on the court.”
