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| Merrick Garland declared Obama's Supreme Court nominee | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| President Barack Obama has nominated veteran appeals court judge Merrick Garland to be the next US Supreme Court Justice. | |
| The Supreme Court vacancy follows the death of Antonin Scalia last month. | The Supreme Court vacancy follows the death of Antonin Scalia last month. |
| Judge Garland, 63, is viewed as a moderate and has won praise from senior Republican figures. | Judge Garland, 63, is viewed as a moderate and has won praise from senior Republican figures. |
| The appointment has to be ratified by the Senate, but its Republican majority earlier vowed to block a vote on any Supreme Court nominee from Mr Obama. | The appointment has to be ratified by the Senate, but its Republican majority earlier vowed to block a vote on any Supreme Court nominee from Mr Obama. |
| Republicans have called on the president to leave the nomination to his successor, who will be elected in November. | |
| The death of Justice Scalia, a staunch conservative, left the nine-member Supreme Court evenly divided between conservatives and liberals. | The death of Justice Scalia, a staunch conservative, left the nine-member Supreme Court evenly divided between conservatives and liberals. |
| Profile: Who is Merrick Garland? | Profile: Who is Merrick Garland? |
| What next for the US Supreme Court? | What next for the US Supreme Court? |
| Meet the Supremes: Who are the US top court's judges? | Meet the Supremes: Who are the US top court's judges? |
| It also set off a battle in a presidential election year over Justice Scalia's successor. | |
| Urging the Senate to support Mr Garland, the US president said: "He is the right man for the job. He deserves to be confirmed". | Urging the Senate to support Mr Garland, the US president said: "He is the right man for the job. He deserves to be confirmed". |
| Over to the Republicans - Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, Washington DC | Over to the Republicans - Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, Washington DC |
| There were a lot of possible strategies being suggested as President Obama considered who would be his Supreme Court nominee. Would he opt for a young, outspoken liberal to rally his party's base and enact a generational ideological change on the court? Would he chose an underrepresented ethnicity or a woman that would force Republicans to risk angering some key voting bloc if they failed to confirm? | There were a lot of possible strategies being suggested as President Obama considered who would be his Supreme Court nominee. Would he opt for a young, outspoken liberal to rally his party's base and enact a generational ideological change on the court? Would he chose an underrepresented ethnicity or a woman that would force Republicans to risk angering some key voting bloc if they failed to confirm? |
| In the end Mr Obama chose accommodation by picking an older centrist in appellate court judge Merrick Garland. | In the end Mr Obama chose accommodation by picking an older centrist in appellate court judge Merrick Garland. |
| It could be that Mr Obama still thinks there's a chance of Senate confirmation for a respected moderate. Maybe he thinks voters will be angered if the Senate rejects even the most uncontroversial choice. | It could be that Mr Obama still thinks there's a chance of Senate confirmation for a respected moderate. Maybe he thinks voters will be angered if the Senate rejects even the most uncontroversial choice. |
| Or perhaps Mr Garland was the best, most qualified candidate who would agree to go along with what will likely be a bruising, probably futile nomination process - a sacrificial lamb offered up in acknowledgment of a dire political reality. | Or perhaps Mr Garland was the best, most qualified candidate who would agree to go along with what will likely be a bruising, probably futile nomination process - a sacrificial lamb offered up in acknowledgment of a dire political reality. |
| One way or the other it's the Republicans' move now. They can accept Mr Garland or gamble that there won't be a new Democratic president next year who is itching for a fight. | One way or the other it's the Republicans' move now. They can accept Mr Garland or gamble that there won't be a new Democratic president next year who is itching for a fight. |
| President Obama said Mr Garland - chief judge of the Washington appeals court and a former prosecutor - enjoyed respect from Democrats and Republicans alike. | |
| Announcing the nomination in the White House Rose Garden, Mr Obama praised Mr Garland's decency, integrity and even-handedness during his long career in public service, and described him as an exemplary judge. | Announcing the nomination in the White House Rose Garden, Mr Obama praised Mr Garland's decency, integrity and even-handedness during his long career in public service, and described him as an exemplary judge. |
| Mr Garland was prepared to serve on the court immediately, he said. | Mr Garland was prepared to serve on the court immediately, he said. |
| President Obama expressed hope that Republicans would act in a bipartisan spirit and give Merrick Garland a "fair hearing". | President Obama expressed hope that Republicans would act in a bipartisan spirit and give Merrick Garland a "fair hearing". |
| The nomination was the "greatest honour of my life", Mr Garland said. | The nomination was the "greatest honour of my life", Mr Garland said. |
| Mr Garland was appointed by Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1997, winning confirmation in a 76-23 Senate vote, and served in the Justice Department during the Clinton administration prior to that. |