http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-...on-supreme-court-nominee-president-obama-says
The Bio of Merrick Garland reads like he already has the track record for the job to replace Scalia.
Let the vetting process begin during the election campaign. I think it's going to be very interesting.
Federal appeals court judge Merrick Garland is President Obama's pick to fill the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, NPR has learned.
Citing a source close to the process, NPR's Nina Totenberg says Obama chose Garland, 63, over two other federal judges who were also seen as contenders for Scalia's seat. The White House has since confirmed the news.
Obama is slated to make the announcement official at 11 a.m. ET, speaking from the Rose Garden at the White House.
"I've made my decision: Today, I will announce the person I believe is eminently qualified to sit on the Supreme Court," Obama said in an email Wednesday morning.
Chief Judge Merrick Garland in 2013.i
Chief Judge Merrick Garland in 2013.
U.S. Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit via AP
Garland, who is currently the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, is a former prosecutor who's viewed as a moderate. He has also cultivated a reputation for openness and collegiality at the D.C. Circuit, a bench that's sometimes called the second most important in the land.
Before becoming a judge, Garland occupied top posts in the Justice Department, where he oversaw some of the biggest investigations of the Clinton era, including the Oklahoma City bombing, the Unabomber case, and the Atlanta Olympics bombing.
Garland has been a finalist for two other Supreme Court openings during Obama's presidency; he joined the appeals court in 1995, after a long Senate delay and a 76-23 vote.
Garland has won praise from senior Republican figures, including Utah Republican Senator Orrin Hatch and Chief Justice John Roberts.
The president's move to fill the seat left vacant by Scalia, who died just over one month ago, comes as conservative Republicans have pledged to block any attempt to fill the spot before a new president is sworn in next January.
Garland's nomination opens a new chapter in what could become an epic and bruising fight over both the ideological tilt of the nation's highest court and President Obama's legacy.
This morning, Obama called on the Senate to hold a fair confirmation hearing of his nominee, and to hold an up-or-down vote.
Announcing his plan to fill the vacancy, Obama said, "it is both my constitutional duty to nominate a Justice and one of the most important decisions that I — or any president — will make."
The Bio of Merrick Garland reads like he already has the track record for the job to replace Scalia.
Let the vetting process begin during the election campaign. I think it's going to be very interesting.
Federal appeals court judge Merrick Garland is President Obama's pick to fill the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, NPR has learned.
Citing a source close to the process, NPR's Nina Totenberg says Obama chose Garland, 63, over two other federal judges who were also seen as contenders for Scalia's seat. The White House has since confirmed the news.
Obama is slated to make the announcement official at 11 a.m. ET, speaking from the Rose Garden at the White House.
"I've made my decision: Today, I will announce the person I believe is eminently qualified to sit on the Supreme Court," Obama said in an email Wednesday morning.
Chief Judge Merrick Garland in 2013.i
Chief Judge Merrick Garland in 2013.
U.S. Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit via AP
Garland, who is currently the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, is a former prosecutor who's viewed as a moderate. He has also cultivated a reputation for openness and collegiality at the D.C. Circuit, a bench that's sometimes called the second most important in the land.
Before becoming a judge, Garland occupied top posts in the Justice Department, where he oversaw some of the biggest investigations of the Clinton era, including the Oklahoma City bombing, the Unabomber case, and the Atlanta Olympics bombing.
Garland has been a finalist for two other Supreme Court openings during Obama's presidency; he joined the appeals court in 1995, after a long Senate delay and a 76-23 vote.
Garland has won praise from senior Republican figures, including Utah Republican Senator Orrin Hatch and Chief Justice John Roberts.
The president's move to fill the seat left vacant by Scalia, who died just over one month ago, comes as conservative Republicans have pledged to block any attempt to fill the spot before a new president is sworn in next January.
Garland's nomination opens a new chapter in what could become an epic and bruising fight over both the ideological tilt of the nation's highest court and President Obama's legacy.
This morning, Obama called on the Senate to hold a fair confirmation hearing of his nominee, and to hold an up-or-down vote.
Announcing his plan to fill the vacancy, Obama said, "it is both my constitutional duty to nominate a Justice and one of the most important decisions that I — or any president — will make."
