Grassley plans breakfast with SCOTUS nominee Garland
Judge Merrick Garland. Photo from the White House.
Updated: Amidst a wall of opposition presented by Republicans in the U.S. Senate, who have said they won’t consider a new U.S. Supreme Court nominee until President Barack Obama’s replacement takes office, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee has stepped forward.
Sen. Chuck Grassley has agreed to have breakfast with Judge Merrick Garland, a moderate federal appeals court jurist named by the president as the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s potential successor, reports Reuters.
However, a spokesman for the senator says he has not changed his mind about waiting until the next president is sworn into office to consider who should take Scalia’s seat on the supreme court.
A date has not yet been set for Grassley’s breakfast meeting with Garland.
Meanwhile, Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, both Republicans, each met with Garland on Tuesday, the New York Times reported.
Collins said her meeting with Garland left her convinced that his nomination hearing should proceed.
“I am not optimistic that I will be changing minds on this issue, but I think if more of my colleagues sit down with Judge Garland that they are going to be impressed with him,” she said.
Boozman took no questions from the press after his meeting with Garland, but said in a statement that he is still not in favor of holding confirmation hearings.
“During our meeting, I conveyed to Judge Garland my position, which is that the next president should fill the vacancy,” Boozman said in his statement. “My position is firm. That means I will not advocate for hearings or a vote, nor will I support filling the vacancy with President Obama’s pick after the election.”
Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois met with Garland last week. He was the first Republican senator to do so.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Garland preps for confirmation hearings though only two Republicans publicly support the idea”
New York Times (reg. req.): “A Second Republican Senator, Susan Collins, Meets With Merrick Garland”
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Obama is reportedly vetting a federal appeals judge from Grassley’s home state for SCOTUS”
Updated at 5:16 p.m. to note meetings with other GOP senators.
