President Obama on Wednesday nominated Judge Merrick Garland to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. The selection begins a showdown with Senate Republicans, who are vowing not to confirm the president's pick and say the next president should nominate the next member of the nation's high court.
Minnesota reaction to Obama's Supreme Court pick
Politicians lining up in partisan showdown over Supreme Court nominee.
March 16, 2016 at 5:54PM
Here is reaction from elected leaders from Minnesota:
"The President has done his job in nominating this exemplary jurist. Now, we need to do our job in the Senate," said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn, who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee. "While I look forward to meeting with Judge Garland, I have met him several times in the past and liked him. I have been particularly impressed by his record and background as well as his ability to gain bipartisan support with his 76-23 Senate vote for the D.C. Circuit. The Constitution is clear: the Senate must consider the President's nominee and then choose whether to vote 'yes' or 'no.' We must do our job, hold hearings, and vote."
Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn, also a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee—which is responsible for moving Supreme Court candidates through the nomination process—was at the White House when the president made his announcement.
"Chief Judge Garland leads one of our nation's most important courts, and during his decades on the bench, he's enjoyed broad bipartisan support," Franken said. "I was glad to be at the White House today when the President announced his nomination, and in the days to come, I look forward to closely examining Judge Garland's record.
"Now that the President has done his job, it is time for us to do ours. And if Republicans choose to shirk their constitutional duty, I'm not sure why they're even in the Senate. I expect us to fulfill our obligation, move forward with this nominee, and not get bogged down by political games. Filling a vacant seat on the U.S. Supreme Court is simply too important to let partisan politics get in the way.
"Nominees to the highest court in the land deserve full and fair consideration by the Senate Judiciary Committee, on which I sit, so I look forward to both meeting Judge Garland and to his appearance before the Committee," Franken said.
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