Free Republic

This post has been updated. Despite Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) flat-out rejecting Obama's Supreme Court nominee, a number of Republican senators said Wednesday that they would meet with Judge Merrick Garland. Brian Deese, a senior advisor to the President who led the White House's SCOTUS process, highlighted some Republicans' softening their earlier hard-line remarks in a call with reporters. "I am old enough to remember a few weeks ago when Republicans said uniformly they wouldn't even meet with our nominee," Deese said. "And just in the past hour since the President announced him in the Rose Garden, we've...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Nah, Obama doesn't even expect this judge to get a hearing. He's too old, folks. If Obama was serious about the pick, he'd have nominated somebody much younger that's gonna be on the court, I mean, decades. Merrick Garland is 63. He sounds like a nice guy. And you know the fix is in when we've got people telling us, "Hey, you know what? This guy could really satisfy a bunch of conservatives." Come on, folks, could we get real? You know, this is where it all starts to break down. I've been watching conservatives on TV,...

Despite President Obama citing the bipartisan congressional support his Supreme Court pick received in the past, Senate Republicans vowed to remain firm on not moving nominee Merrick Garland forward. Garland, a Harvard Law grad and the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit since 1997, stood by Obama's side in the Rose Garden today as the president detailed the judge's list of accomplishments. During the confirmation process to the D.C. Circuit, Obama noted, "he earned overwhelming bipartisan praise from senators and legal experts alike." "Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, who was then chairman...

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. Here are five quick facts you need to know about Garland.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell may be holding the line, but a handful of Senate Republicans say they would meet with Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland — a sign of emerging cracks in the brick wall the GOP has presented thus far. New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who’s facing a tough reelection fight, said that while she still opposes moving on a nomination ahead of the presidential race, she would take the time to explain her position to Garland. When the nomination was still conceptual, Ayotte had said she would not meet the nominee.

‘The next justice could fundamentally alter the direction of the Supreme Court and have a profound impact on our country, so of course the American people should have a say in the Court’s direction…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.’ WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor today following the President’s announcement of his...

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 vacancy should be filled by the next president. ADVERTISEMENT “The next justice could fundamentally alter the direction of the Supreme Court and have a profound impact on our country, so of course the American people should have a say in the Court’s direction," he said.

Merrick Garland born and raised in Obama's Chicago Harvard Law ScoolJamie Gorelick's principal deputy In 1993, Garland joined the new Clinton administration as deputy assistant attorney general in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. The following year, then-Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick—a key mentor of Garland's—asked Garland to be her principal deputy.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/polls/2016/mar/16/should-gop-senators-oppose-merrick-garlands-nomina/

The conservative Judicial Crisis Network, which plans to spend at least $2 million on an advertising campaign to oppose Judge Merrick Garland’s nomination, says the nominee “has a very liberal view of gun rights.” JCN chief counsel Carrie Severino said in a blog post that Judge Merrick’s record on the bench since 1997 “leads to the conclusion that he would vote to reverse one of Justice Scalia’s most important opinions, D.C. vs. Heller, which affirmed that the Second Amendment confers an individual right to keep and bear arms.” In 2007, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit ruled against the...

Crafty of O to wait until the morning after Trump’s backbreaking wins last night to stick McConnell with this. Now Senate Republicans will face maximum pressure from both sides. If they cave and decide to give Garland a hearing after all, Republican voters who are still cool to Trump might decide to vote for him in a burst of “burn it all down” rage. A betrayal here hands Trump the nomination — assuming there’s any doubt that he’s already on track to win it. If, on the other hand, McConnell stands firm, he’s blowing an opportunity to confirm a...

resident Obama has nominated Federal Appeals Judge Merrick Garland to replace late Justice Antonin Scalia. Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is reconfirming the Committee's decision to deny any nominee confirmation hearings. “The president has full and complete power to nominate individuals to the Supreme Court, as he will reportedly do later today,” Lee said in a statement. “But the Constitution also gives the Senate the full and complete power to reject or confirm the nominee,” Lee continued. “It’s as simple as that. In light of the contentious presidential election already well underway, my...

MIAMI -- Utah Sen. Mike Lee endorsed Ted Cruz for president on Thursday afternoon. "It's time, my fellow Americans, to expect more. It's time to expect freedom," Lee said at the University of Miami. "It's time to elect Ted Cruz as the next president of the United States." Two sources told BuzzFeed News earlier on Thursday of Lee's plans to endorse Cruz. The Lee endorsement comes on the heels of Carly Fiorina's unexpected endorsement of Cruz on Wednesday. Both of these endorsements were rolled out in Miami, the home turf of Cruz's rival Marco Rubio, whose campaign is struggling ahead...

But Garland has a long record, and, among other things, it leads to the conclusion that he would vote to reverse one of Justice Scalia’s most important opinions, D.C. vs. Heller, which affirmed that the Second Amendment confers an individual right to keep and bear arms.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday announced his nomination of federal appeals court judge Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court position left vacant by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia a month ago. Obama spoke Wednesday morning in the White House Rose Garden. "This is not a responsibility that I take lightly," he said, adding that he spoke with a wide group of people ranging from advocacy groups to the Senate Judiciary Committee in his search for a new justice. He said Garland is well-known in Democratic and Republican circles for his "decency, honesty, integrity (and) even-handedness." "He's shown a...

Garland is no fan of the D.C. vs. Heller decision: Justice Scalia's death made gun control the most important single issue of the 2016 election “No one wants to take your guns away.” That’s been the Obama administration claim since day one. Of course, it was an outright lie. These people would love nothing more than to do away with the 2nd Amendment - and, with the death of Antonin Scalia, they finally have their chance. According to the AP, sometime this afternoon Barack Obama will nominate appeals court judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. He’ll present Garland as...

After graduating with honors from Harvard University and Harvard Law School, D.C. Circuit Judge Merrick Garland clerked for Judge Henry Friendly on the Second Circuit and then for Justice William Brennan. Garland has spent most of his career in public service, much like Justice Samuel Alito. Both served as Assistant United States Attorneys and as high-level aides to Attorneys General. If nominated and confirmed to the Court, Garland would be the third sitting justice with prosecutorial experience (joining Justices Alito and Sotomayor). But while Alito remained in government, Garland's career also included several years in private practice at Arnold &...

Senate Democrats are trying to turn the GOP’s refusal to move on the Supreme Court vacancy into the latest episode of the “war on women.” Led by some of their most senior female members, Senate Democrats will take to the floor Tuesday to launch a new messaging offensive that ties the battle over replacing Justice Antonin Scalia to a GOP-led hearing on late-term abortions scheduled to occur later Tuesday. The new tactic, led by Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the sole woman in Democratic leadership, is an attempt to galvanize women in the Supreme Court vacancy fight, particularly as the high...

Editor's note: A previous version of this story stated President Obama will appoint Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. That is incorrect. President Obama will nominate Garland for the position. According to a report in POLITICO, President Obama will nominate Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court as a replacement for late Justice Antonin Scalia, who died last month. Obama will make the announcement from the Rose Garden at 11 a.m. eastern.  Merrick Garland was on short list for SCOTUS twice before. Highly-regarded judge and prosecutor, who's won bipartisan plaudits.— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) March 16, 2016 In an email announcement sent...

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has been targeted and assaulted by vicious and hateful attacks from the Democrats and their flying monkeys.