SCOTUS Brief 4/8/2016
What Senate Republicans are actually saying about their scheduled meetings next week with Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland
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- Ahead of his meeting with Merrick Garland on Tuesday, Senator Chuck Grassley told Roll Call’s Todd Ruger the Easter recess reinforced his position, saying “Everyday Iowans want the opportunity to weigh in on the direction of the Court for a generation.”
Roll Call: Grassley: I Haven’t Changed My Mind on Garland Hearings
“Sen. Charles E. Grassley had a message Thursday for those hoping Iowa town halls over the past Senate recess would pressure him into holding hearings for Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland: Nope. ‘I came away from those meetings feeling positive about the discussions that we’ve had both before and during the recess,’ Grassley said at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. ‘In other words the recess reinforced my thinking’… Grassley, as the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, can control whether the Senate holds confirmation hearings for Garland. Grassley has said repeatedly that the next president should fill the vacancy left by the death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia in February…‘Everyday Iowans want the opportunity to weigh in on the direction of the Court for a generation. That’s not the story the press wants to write, but it’s true.’”
- Senator Kelly Ayotte was quoted by the New Hampshire Union Leader’s Dan Tuohy saying she will meet with Merrick Garland on Wednesday to tell him the people should have a voice in their next Justice.
New Hampshire Union Leader: Ayotte to meet with Supreme Court nominee Garland next week
“U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-NH, said she will have a meeting with Supreme Court nominee Merrick B. Garland next week. Ayotte’s office said she would sit down April 13 with President Barack Obama’s pick to succeed the late Justice Antonin Scalia. ‘This is a lifetime appointment that will have a significant impact on our country for decades to come,’ Ayotte said in a statement. ‘I will meet with the President’s nominee out of courtesy and respect, and I also plan to explain my view that the people should have a voice in this important nomination through their votes in November.’”
- Senator Rob Portman told WKSU’s M.L. Schultze that he plans to explain to Merrick Garland why the people should have a say in the next Justice at their meeting on Thursday.
WKSU: Portman Says He’s Meeting with Garland Purely as a Courtesy
“Ohio’s Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman will be meeting with President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee next Thursday morning (April 14), but he’s cautioning that nothing more should be read into that. Portman says the White House asked him to meet with Merrick Garland. ‘I think it’s a courtesy. I think you should meet with a member of the federal bench who would like to meet with you. And obviously I’m going to hear him out on whatever he would like to talk about. I’m also going to convey to him my position and my reasoning, which I’ve been very clear on from the beginning.’”
