WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. Sen. Jack Reed says Supreme Court nominee Merrick B. Garland is “supremely well-qualified” and deserves a fair hearing.
The Rhode Island Democrat met with President Obama’s pick for the high court in his Washington office on Tuesday.
Senate Republicans have refused to hold hearings on Garland, saying that filling the seat should be left to the next president.
Reed said after the meeting that Garland and the American people “deserve a fair, public hearing and a fully functioning government.” He says Republicans’ refusal to consider the nomination does a disservice to the judicial system.
Garland is chief judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Obama nominated him in March to replace Justice Antonin Scalia after his death.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.