SCOTUS Brief 4/14/2016
Politico: Sen. Toomey opposes Merrick Garland because of his liberal record – WSJ: Merrick Garland meetings aren’t changing any minds among GOP Senators – Washington Post: Democrats hit brick wall in Supreme Court fight
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- Politico’s Burgess Everett writes that after meeting with Merrick Garland, Sen. Pat Toomey announced he opposes Merrick Garland because of his liberal record, specifically citing his deference to the Executive Branch.
Politico: Toomey knocks Garland after long meeting
“Yet when Toomey emerged, he was more resolute than ever that Garland should not be confirmed. And it wasn’t just the principle that the court seat should remain vacant. For Toomey, it’s also the person. Toomey said that his main issue regards executive overreach — that President Barack Obama has circumvented Congress, and future presidents will do the same. On that topic, Garland did little to sway to him. ‘We talked about concerns I have about his record and his judicial philosophy. Unfortunately, for me, throughout the process of this discussion, he did not assuage my concerns,’ Toomey told reporters. ‘I’m not convinced that he would be willing to play the role of a sufficiently aggressive check on an administration.’”
- The Wall Street Journal’s Siobhan Hughes writes that the White House’s campaign to confirm Merrick Garland is failing to gain any traction.
“The White House campaign to persuade Senate Republicans to go through the process of confirming Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland this year isn’t changing any minds. Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R., N.H.), one of the Republicans who has met with the Judge Garland, wrapped up her meeting on Wednesday without moving from her position that the confirmation process should wait until after the elections…The White House has calculated that if Republican senators sit down with Judge Garland, they will ultimately agree to hold a confirmation hearing and then later confirm him. But so far, the meetings aren’t changing any minds. Instead, the Republican wall of resistance is holding firm.”
- The Washington Post’s Mike DeBonis writes that Democrats are hitting a “brick wall” of resistance in the Senate and the Judicial Crisis Network is launching a six figure digital buy in battleground states.
Washington Post: Democrats hit brick wall in Supreme Court fight
“Democrats who are trying to force Senate Republicans to confirm Supreme Court nominee Merrick B. Garland are now confronting increasingly dismal odds of success a month after his nomination. A strategy of turning private meetings between Garland and GOP senators into public hearings has yet to bear fruit. Garland met with six Republicans this week, including three of the party’s most vulnerable incumbents, and none showed signs of wavering afterward… The resilience of the blockade has left Democrats facing questions about what maneuvers they have left to compel Republicans, whose leaders are secure in their belief that allowing hearings on Garland would be more politically disastrous then not allowing them, to change course… the Judicial Crisis Network, a conservative group aiming to block Garland, launched a ‘mid-six figure’ digital media campaign of its own in those same battleground states.”
