Thank you for using the We the People platform to sign a petition regarding the Senate’s obstruction of President Obama’s Supreme Court Nominee, Chief Judge Merrick Garland.
As President Obama noted when he announced his nomination, Chief Judge Garland has more federal judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in American history. His 19 years on the federal bench, meticulous commitment to the law, and unimpeachable credentials prove that there is no one more qualified to immediately serve on the Supreme Court.
Many Republicans agreed too, judging him to be well-qualified in temperament, experience, and background. He is the exact kind of consensus nominee that the Senate GOP claimed they wanted the President to nominate. That’s why he was confirmed to the D.C. Circuit in 1997 in a strong bipartisan vote. And that’s why it is so deeply discouraging that Senate Republicans decided to wage a historic campaign of obstruction of his confirmation process.
Article II Section II of the U.S. Constitution is clear about the Senate’s duty to consider the President’s nomination. The Senate Republicans willfully abdicated that basic responsibility as elected representatives of the American people.
President Obama was proud to nominate Chief Judge Garland to the Supreme Court, and knows he will continue to serve our country with distinction on the D.C. Circuit.