President Barack Obama nominated U.S. Court of Appeals Chief Justice Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court at 11 a.m. Wednesday. Garland will potentially fill the court seat left vacant by the death of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February.
“He made a very moderate nomination, this isn’t someone at all far to the left,” associate professor of constitutional democracy in the James Madison College Benjamin Kleinerman said.
If confirmed by the Senate, Garland will be the third judge nominated by Obama, after Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, to sit on the Supreme Court.
MSU College Republicans president and political theory and constitutional democracy senior Jeff Litten said he was not surprised when Obama announced Garland’s nomination.
“He did nominate someone a little bit more moderate,” Litten said. “He’s still not a perfect because he is still not good with gun rights and other conservative issues.”
Scalia’s death has raised political tensions in an already intense election season.
Many Republicans believe the next justice should be nominated by the President-elect of the 2016 contest, while many Democrats believe it is Obama’s duty to nominate another judge during the remainder of his presidency.
"Not only as one of America’s sharpest legal minds, but someone who brings to his work a spirit of decency, modesty, integrity, even-handedness and excellence” Obama said during his address and announcement of the nominee Garland.
MSU College Democrats communications director and social relations and policy junior Daniel Eggerding praised the nomination.
“(Obama) has the constitutional power to nominate whoever he chooses,” Eggerding said. "I know that (Garland) has been a well respected judge. … He seems to get praise from both sides of the aisle.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who vowed to block any Supreme Court nomination of Obama’s, has stood his ground regarding Garland. From here, Garland’s chances of being the next justice fall to the Senate’s discretion.
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