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UP FRONTMonday 21 March 2016

Senate Republican leader: No lame-duck hearing of court pick

WASHINGTON (AP) — The In this March 17, 2016, photo, Judge Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama’s choice to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia
Senate’s Republican ma-
jority leader on Sunday on the Supreme Court, sits during a meeting with Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., on Capitol Hill in Washington. Associated Press
ruled out the idea of con-
sidering confirmation of that the Senate would not ing Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizo- prospects, McConnell said House would stand by Gar-
President Barack Obama’s confirm an Obama nomi- na. He floated the idea of that he, as majority leader,
Supreme Court nominee, nee in an election year, considering the Garland’s sets the Senate’s schedule land “from now until he is
even in a postelection let alone hold hearings. nomination in the postelec- “and most of my members
lame-duck session, He even ruled out meeting tion session because “be- are very comfortable” with confirmed and he is sitting
Sen. Mitch McConnell sig- the president’s pick, a stan- tween him and somebody his position. In the eyes of
naled no retreat or sur- dard courtesy. Democrats that a President Clinton the Senate’s Democratic on the Supreme Court.”
render from his firm stand are using the issue against might nominate, I think the leader, McConnell is inflict-
to keep the court short- vulnerable Republicans choice is clear.” ing political pain on his Re- “Getting the Senate work-
handed through at least facing re-election, hoping To that argument, Mc- publican colleagues. “He’s
January, scuttling the sug- for leverage to retake the Connell gave no ground: marching these men, wom- ing again would mean
gestion from at least one Senate after the November “Whether it’s before the en over a cliff. I don’t think
Republican colleague election. election or after the elec- they’re going to go,” said giving this person meet-
worried that a new Demo- So far, though, just one tion, the principle is the Nevada Sen. Harry Reid,
crat in the White House — Republican senator, Mark American people are who is not running for re- ings, a hearing, a vote in
Hillary Clinton is the party’s Kirk of Illinois, has broken choosing their next presi- election. With Kirk’s stand,
front-runner — might nomi- with his party leaders and dent and their next presi- “that facade is breaking as committee and a vote on
nate someone more liberal called for a vote on Gar- dent should pick this Su- we speak,” Reid contend-
than Obama’s pick, fed- land. A growing number of preme Court nominee.” ed. The president’s chief the floor,” he said. “There’s
eral appeals court judge Republicans are willing to And while expressing con- of staff, Denis McDonough,
Merrick Garland. meet with Garland, includ- fidence in Kirk’s re-election said the Obama White enough politicization in
“I can’t imagine that a Re-
publican majority Senate, Washington. Let’s get on
even if it were soon to be
a minority, would want to with our business.”
confirm a judge that would
move the court dramati- McConnell appeared
cally to the left,” McCon-
nell said in one of his Sun- on CNN’s “State of the
day TV news show appear-
ances. “That’s not going to Union,” ABC’s “This Week,”
happen.”
Garland, chief judge of the ‘’Fox News Sunday” and
U.S. Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia Cir- NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
cuit, won Republican votes
for his current seat and is McDonough was on
seen as a centrist whose
nomination to the nine- ABC and Fox, while Reid
member Supreme Court
could box in Obama’s op- was interviewed on NBC.
ponents, shaken by the
death of Justice Antonin
Scalia, a conservative bul-
wark.
McConnell hasn’t budged
from his insistence, begin-
ning just hours after Sca-
lia’s death last month,