President Barack Obama has nominated Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Garland has more federal judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in history.
Despite his qualifications, Republicans continue to show unprecedented disrespect towards the President and our constitution. They don’t want to even give a hearing to the President’s nominee.
Senator Deb Fischer said publicly that the Senate should not consider anyone President Obama nominates (1), while Senator Ben Sasse created a ridiculous video claiming he’d only consider a Supreme Court nominee who would publicly rebuke President Obama from the White House rose garden (2).
In 2012, the American people elected President Obama to another full, four-year term. He has a constitutional duty to fill judicial vacancies — and his nomination of Merrick Garland is a fine example of the respect he has for his job, and the constitution.
In his video, Sen. Sasse laments that President Obama is creating a “constitutional crisis” somehow by fulfilling his duty under the constitution to nominate Supreme Court justices. In fact, Sasse’s and Fischer’s refusal to consider the President’s nominee exposes their profound disrespect for our country’s founding document.
Our courts matter — we deserve a full bench on the Supreme Court.
The President has fulfilled his constitutional duty, now it is time for the Senate to do theirs!
The person who replaces the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the Court will be crucial in our fight to protect our land, water and climate.
Justice Scalia’s deciding vote recently put a hold on the Clean Power Plan, the President’s plan to reduce carbon emissions from coal plants and boost renewable energy and efficiency across the country.
President Obama’s nominee for the Court will support his climate legacy. It’s his constitutional duty to fill this vacancy on the Court, and now it’s the Senate’s job to hold a fair hearing and an “up or down” vote on Merrick Garland’s nomination.
Tell Senators Ben Sasse and Deb Fischer: Do your job! Click here to sign the petition.
REFERENCES:
1. “Sen. Fischer insists Senate shouldn’t consider any Obama Supreme Court nominee,” Nebraska Radio Network, 2/26/16.
2. “Ben Sasse says he’d confirm Obama’s Supreme Court pick, on one big condition,” Omaha World-Herald, 3/16/16.
