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| As Obama defends Garland, Republicans float a possible pick for Supreme Court | As Obama defends Garland, Republicans float a possible pick for Supreme Court |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| President Obama redoubled his push Thursday to win the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, issuing dire warnings aimed at countering the growing certainty from GOP leaders that they will be able to block his confirmation. | President Obama redoubled his push Thursday to win the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, issuing dire warnings aimed at countering the growing certainty from GOP leaders that they will be able to block his confirmation. |
| Republicans’ confidence in their blockade has risen to the point that some are floating high-court candidates of their own should the GOP win the White House in November, with a handful of conservative luminaries quietly touting Sen. Mike Lee of Utah. | Republicans’ confidence in their blockade has risen to the point that some are floating high-court candidates of their own should the GOP win the White House in November, with a handful of conservative luminaries quietly touting Sen. Mike Lee of Utah. |
| The chatter does not appear to be an organized part of the opposition to Garland, which has been led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in conjunction with outside groups agitating against an election-year confirmation. But it reflects the wide belief among Republicans that they will succeed in blocking Garland and move on to considering their own choices for the high court. | The chatter does not appear to be an organized part of the opposition to Garland, which has been led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in conjunction with outside groups agitating against an election-year confirmation. But it reflects the wide belief among Republicans that they will succeed in blocking Garland and move on to considering their own choices for the high court. |
| Conservative resistance to Garland remains fierce: Two GOP senators who were open to hearings reversed themselves under pressure from activists; two others met with Garland and suggested action on his nomination, but their views are not widely reflected within the Republican conference. | Conservative resistance to Garland remains fierce: Two GOP senators who were open to hearings reversed themselves under pressure from activists; two others met with Garland and suggested action on his nomination, but their views are not widely reflected within the Republican conference. |
| “I think it’s safe to say that there will not be hearings or votes,” McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday. | “I think it’s safe to say that there will not be hearings or votes,” McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday. |
| Obama refocused his attention on the Supreme Court battle Thursday at the University of Chicago Law School, the institution where he forged his academic expertise in constitutional law. Before an audience of students, faculty members and other dignitaries, he argued that a failure to confirm Garland would endanger the nation’s founding principles. | Obama refocused his attention on the Supreme Court battle Thursday at the University of Chicago Law School, the institution where he forged his academic expertise in constitutional law. Before an audience of students, faculty members and other dignitaries, he argued that a failure to confirm Garland would endanger the nation’s founding principles. |
| “If you start getting into a situation in which the process of appointing judges is so broken, so partisan that an eminently qualified jurist cannot even get a hearing, then we are going to see the kinds of sharp partisan polarization that have come to characterize our electoral politics seeping entirely into the judicial system,” he said. “Our democracy can’t afford that.” | “If you start getting into a situation in which the process of appointing judges is so broken, so partisan that an eminently qualified jurist cannot even get a hearing, then we are going to see the kinds of sharp partisan polarization that have come to characterize our electoral politics seeping entirely into the judicial system,” he said. “Our democracy can’t afford that.” |
| Obama said that while senators can reject anyone he nominates, they cannot simply stall the process to shift the selection to a president of their party. That, he said, would lead to the “nuclear option” where Senate rules are changed to allow the confirmation of a Supreme Court nominee by a simple majority. | Obama said that while senators can reject anyone he nominates, they cannot simply stall the process to shift the selection to a president of their party. That, he said, would lead to the “nuclear option” where Senate rules are changed to allow the confirmation of a Supreme Court nominee by a simple majority. |
| “If different parties control the White House and the Senate, during that period of time, you’re not going to get any appointments done, which is a disaster for the court generally,” he said. | “If different parties control the White House and the Senate, during that period of time, you’re not going to get any appointments done, which is a disaster for the court generally,” he said. |
| But there was little immediate sign his warnings made any impression on Republicans. Several conservative groups accused him of hypocrisy, with Obama having voted as a senator to filibuster the nomination of Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. in 2006. | But there was little immediate sign his warnings made any impression on Republicans. Several conservative groups accused him of hypocrisy, with Obama having voted as a senator to filibuster the nomination of Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. in 2006. |
| As Obama prepared to defend Garland in Chicago, McConnell argued on the Senate floor that his confirmation would create “a far-left Supreme Court for decades to come.” | As Obama prepared to defend Garland in Chicago, McConnell argued on the Senate floor that his confirmation would create “a far-left Supreme Court for decades to come.” |
| In a morning speech, McConnell said, “I’m sure he’ll gloss over the fact that the decision about filling this pivotal seat could impact our country for decades, and it could dramatically affect the most cherished constitutional rights, like those contained in the First and Second amendments.” | In a morning speech, McConnell said, “I’m sure he’ll gloss over the fact that the decision about filling this pivotal seat could impact our country for decades, and it could dramatically affect the most cherished constitutional rights, like those contained in the First and Second amendments.” |
| The speculation over Lee comes as Republican front-runner Donald Trump, facing pressure from skeptical conservatives, has promised to release a list of potential Supreme Court picks based on input from right-wing advocacy groups. | The speculation over Lee comes as Republican front-runner Donald Trump, facing pressure from skeptical conservatives, has promised to release a list of potential Supreme Court picks based on input from right-wing advocacy groups. |
| Lee has already been included on an informal shortlist of potential nominees drawn up by a Heritage Foundation legal expert. Lee is also one of two senators to have endorsed the presidential bid of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.). Lee also served as a clerk to Alito when he was a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit in Philadelphia and is now a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. | |
| Cruz has said Lee “would look pretty good in a robe,” and while Trump is not as close to Lee, embracing him could quell anxiety among those who are anxious about Trump’s irreverence toward conservative orthodoxy. | Cruz has said Lee “would look pretty good in a robe,” and while Trump is not as close to Lee, embracing him could quell anxiety among those who are anxious about Trump’s irreverence toward conservative orthodoxy. |
| Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Trump’s only Senate backer, said Lee “would be a very good choice, I think.” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who halted his presidential bid last month, said of a potential Lee nomination, “We should be so lucky.” | Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Trump’s only Senate backer, said Lee “would be a very good choice, I think.” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who halted his presidential bid last month, said of a potential Lee nomination, “We should be so lucky.” |
| In an interview with MSNBC a year ago, Lee was open to the job, saying, “If one of my friends running for president got elected president and asked me to consider that . . . the answer is yes.” His spokesman said Thursday morning that Lee “has the job he wants” as senator. | In an interview with MSNBC a year ago, Lee was open to the job, saying, “If one of my friends running for president got elected president and asked me to consider that . . . the answer is yes.” His spokesman said Thursday morning that Lee “has the job he wants” as senator. |
| Democrats, meanwhile, remain committed to a strategy of trying to leverage courtesy meetings with Republican senators into a hearing and eventually into an up-or-down vote on Garland, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. | Democrats, meanwhile, remain committed to a strategy of trying to leverage courtesy meetings with Republican senators into a hearing and eventually into an up-or-down vote on Garland, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. |
| “We feel confident in our argument, confident in the nominee, and we believe that more senators are going to come on board to have meetings, and obviously the next step after that will be a hearing,” White House communications director Jen Psaki said Thursday. | “We feel confident in our argument, confident in the nominee, and we believe that more senators are going to come on board to have meetings, and obviously the next step after that will be a hearing,” White House communications director Jen Psaki said Thursday. |
| One additional GOP senator, Lindsey O. Graham of South Carolina, said Thursday that he would meet with Garland, but a spokesman characterized it strictly as a “courtesy” meeting. “He continues to believe the next president should pick the next nominee for the Supreme Court,” said the spokesman, Kevin Bishop. | One additional GOP senator, Lindsey O. Graham of South Carolina, said Thursday that he would meet with Garland, but a spokesman characterized it strictly as a “courtesy” meeting. “He continues to believe the next president should pick the next nominee for the Supreme Court,” said the spokesman, Kevin Bishop. |
| Next week, Garland will meet with three GOP senators up for reelection: Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Rob Portman of Ohio and — crucially — Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, who as Judiciary Committee chairman holds sole power to call hearings on Garland’s confirmation. | Next week, Garland will meet with three GOP senators up for reelection: Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Rob Portman of Ohio and — crucially — Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, who as Judiciary Committee chairman holds sole power to call hearings on Garland’s confirmation. |
| “The most vulnerable Republicans are those who are up for reelection, and many of them are returning home now to a steady chorus of questions,” said Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), the minority whip, who met with Garland on Wednesday and traveled to Chicago with Obama on Thursday. “I don’t think it’s going to end. This is a symbol of obstructionism that people loathe in Washington.” | “The most vulnerable Republicans are those who are up for reelection, and many of them are returning home now to a steady chorus of questions,” said Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), the minority whip, who met with Garland on Wednesday and traveled to Chicago with Obama on Thursday. “I don’t think it’s going to end. This is a symbol of obstructionism that people loathe in Washington.” |
| [Merrick Garland is still tutoring elementary school students in Northeast D.C.] | [Merrick Garland is still tutoring elementary school students in Northeast D.C.] |
| But in a signal that Democrats might already be thinking about an alternative plan, Durbin said there were other legislative maneuvers that “we are actively considering.” Democrats have thus far refrained from holding up legislation or other Senate business to gain leverage on the court fight. | But in a signal that Democrats might already be thinking about an alternative plan, Durbin said there were other legislative maneuvers that “we are actively considering.” Democrats have thus far refrained from holding up legislation or other Senate business to gain leverage on the court fight. |
| An ultimate step would be to force a floor vote on Garland without committee action — a move that would almost certainly fail but would attract attention and put vulnerable Republican incumbents on the spot. A Democratic leadership aide said that is being considered as a last resort, one that would not be deployed for months. | An ultimate step would be to force a floor vote on Garland without committee action — a move that would almost certainly fail but would attract attention and put vulnerable Republican incumbents on the spot. A Democratic leadership aide said that is being considered as a last resort, one that would not be deployed for months. |
| Sen. John Cornyn (Tex.), the No. 2 Republican leader, said Democrats are “just trying to keep the buzz alive” in the face of an unyielding GOP front: “They’re just trying to exhaust all possibilities, and that would represent the exhaustion of the last possibility.” | Sen. John Cornyn (Tex.), the No. 2 Republican leader, said Democrats are “just trying to keep the buzz alive” in the face of an unyielding GOP front: “They’re just trying to exhaust all possibilities, and that would represent the exhaustion of the last possibility.” |
| Eilperin reported from Chicago. | Eilperin reported from Chicago. |