Obama Nominates Merrick Garland To Supreme Court

04:54

March 16, 2016

President Barack Obama announces his Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland (right), in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 16, 2016. Garland, 63, is currently chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The nomination sets the stage for an election-year showdown with Republicans who have made it clear they have no intention of holding hearings to vet any Supreme Court nominee put forward by the president. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)

President Obama has nominated Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court, to fill the seat left vacant by the late Antonin Scalia.

Garland is the chief judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, and has a long history of judicial experience both in private practices and as a public servant. Garland also has wide bipartisan appeal, according to NPR’s Nina Totenberg.

“As chief judge he is, I have to say, a genuinely beloved figure, to both conservatives and liberals alike,” she told Here & Now's Robin Young.

Despite Garland’s acclaimed appeal to both parties, House Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stands by his previous statements that Republicans would not hold hearings or consider a nominee recommended before a new president takes office.

“They may not give him a hearing, they may not give him a vote, but they’ll be left relying on process instead of him, I think,” Totenberg said.

Guest

Nina Totenberg, NPR's legal affairs correspondent. She tweets @NinaTotenberg.

This segment aired on March 16, 2016.

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