What They're Saying about President Obama's Supreme Court Nominee

This week, President Obama introduced the American people to his Supreme Court nominee, Chief Judge Merrick Garland. An eminently qualified jurist, Chief Judge Garland has spent nearly 20 years using his keen ability to build consensus in service of the public good. In fact, he has more federal judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in history. 

His integrity, mastery of the law, and unimpeachable credentials are well-known in the legal field and easily discerned from a simple look at his record. That is why public leaders and legal experts across the political spectrum, and editorial boards across the country, have offered full-throated support for the President's choice in Chief Judge Garland.

Here's a brief rundown of what people are saying about the Supreme Court nominee -- and the Senate's responsibility to do its job by giving him his due consideration: 

Conservatives

The President has nominated someone who is capable of doing the job by virtue of intellect, education and experience.

Alberto Gonzales

Miguel Estrada: “I think it's a terrific pick by the president … I consider [Garland] a moderate and thoughtful and excellent judge." [3/16/16]

Michael Chertoff, former judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia and former Secretary of Homeland Security: "I was really pleased for him. I was pleased for the country. I felt that this was by any standard a really outstanding pick. And I cherish the court and I think it's important that the people who are selected to be on it continue to maintain the high standards that we- have made our judiciary really the envy of the world." [3/16/16]

Ed Whelan, former Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice and former law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia: “Back in 2010, I favorably compared Merrick Garland to other leading candidates for a Supreme Court vacancy, and I have very high regard for his intellect and his decency.” [National Review, 3/16/16]

Alberto Gonzales, former U.S. Attorney General and White House Counsel in the George W. Bush Administration: “The President has nominated someone who is capable of doing the job by virtue of intellect, education and experience. Judge Garland has a reputation for integrity and likely has the character to withstand the scrutiny that comes with the confirmation process.” [USA Today, 3/16/16]

Judge Ken Starr: “Chief Judge Garland is a brilliant jurist who believes in and upholds the rule of law undergirding our constitutional republic. I have known him well for many years. He is superbly qualified to serve on our nation’s highest court.” [Press Release, 3/16/16]

Editorial Boards

The chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit is a moderate who is widely respected by both Democrats and Republicans for his integrity, judgment, intellect and basic decency. It would be a irresponsible for Republicans in the U.S. Senate to withhold consideration of Garland's nomination for strictly political reasons.

San Jose Mercury News, 3/16/16

Washington Post: Dear GOP: Stop playing politics and give Merrick Garland a confirmation hearing
"The case against Mr. Garland — well, there is not much of a case against him. He is unusually well-respected across the ideological spectrum. He worked his way up in the Justice Department as a prosecutor, gaining respect for supervising terrorism cases, before joining the federal bench. He was confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit 76 to 23 in 1997, and several sitting senators should remember voting for him. One, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), was once quoted as calling him a “consensus nominee.” During his time on the D.C. Circuit, Mr. Garland has gained a reputation for thoughtfulness. He is an ideal nominee in these divided times." [3/16/16]

Los Angeles Times: Senate Republicans' refusal to consider Merrick Garland's Supreme Court nomination is dangerous obstructionism
"The stubborn refusal of Senate Republicans to consider any Supreme Court nominee offered by President Obama would be outrageous, regardless of whom the president selected to succeed Justice Antonin Scalia. But Obama's announcement Wednesday that he will nominate Merrick Garland, a moderate federal appeals court judge who has won bipartisan praise during a long and distinguished legal career, puts the Republicans' irresponsibility and cheap partisanship in even starker relief." [3/16/16]

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Editorial: Senate must do its job and give Merrick Garland a hearing 
"Now that President Barack Obama has done his job and nominated Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court, Sen. Ron Johnson and his fellow Republicans in the Senate need to do theirs and give the nominee a hearing. GOP senators, including Johnson, have said the next appointment to the Supreme Court should be made by the next president of the United States. They're wrong on that. The people elected Obama to a full four-year term in 2012, not a three-year term. He is still the president with obligations to fulfill, and he's fulfilling them. The Senate should do the same." [3/16/16]

Tampa Bay Times Editorial: U.S. Senate should hold hearings, vote on court pick
"President Barack Obama has fulfilled his constitutional obligation by nominating an experienced, well-regarded appeals court judge to fill the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Now the Senate should do its job by holding hearings and voting on whether to confirm Judge Merrick Garland. Senate Republicans who continue to act as obstructionists and ignore the president's nomination for political reasons are eroding public confidence in the legal system and abdicating their constitutional responsibility." [3/16/16]

Kansas City Star Editorial: Obama’s solid Supreme Court choice exposes GOP senators as obstructionist puppets
"President Barack Obama has acted in the spirit of compromise with his choice of Merrick B. Garland for the U.S. Supreme Court. Senate Republicans will expose themselves as naked obstructionists if they refuse to follow suit and hold hearings. Garland is a universally respected centrist judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit." [3/16/16]

Charlotte Observer: High court pick deserves a fair hearing
"In Merrick Garland, President Obama has nominated an eminently qualified jurist for the nation’s highest court. As the well-respected chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit – commonly called the nation’s second highest court – one could argue that Garland is the most qualified jurist Obama could have picked." [3/16/16]

Chicago Tribune: Vote him up or down, but vote: Merrick Garland, on the merits
"In nominating Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court seat vacated by the death of Antonin Scalia, President Barack Obama on Wednesday praised the Illinois native as a judge 'widely recognized not only as one of America's sharpest legal minds, but someone who brings to his work a spirit of decency, modesty, integrity, even-handedness and excellence.' Over nearly two decades of service on a federal court of appeals, Garland has won nearly universal admiration." [3/16/16]

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Sen. Blunt should give Supreme Court nominee a fair hearing
"Obstructionist GOP senators are vowing to block President Barack Obama’s nomination of Merrick B. Garland to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Voters should watch closely whether Missouri Republican Sen. Roy Blunt treats this nomination with the respect and seriousness it deserves or gives priority to partisan maneuvering." [3/16/16]

Sun Sentinel: Fairly evaluate Supreme Court nominee — now
"Let's remind the Senate that there's another principle here — the principle of doing the job you were elected to do, the job you are paid to do. And part of that job is to fulfill the Senate's duty to advise and consent — or not consent, but at least debate — on presidential nominations for the Supreme Court." [3/16/16]

Dallas Morning News Editorial: Obama’s done his job, now it’s time for senators to do theirs
"President Barack Obama has done his duty and nominated a qualified federal judge to succeed the late Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. Now it is time for the Senate to do the same. Judge Merrick Garland deserves, as any reasonable nominee deserves, a full hearing and a vote. For the Republicans who control the Senate to do less is to shame themselves and the institution they represent. It is to neglect their duty, insult their president, and weaken this democracy’s faith in justice. It would ultimately weaken the very rule of law." [3/16/16]

New York Times Editorial: Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court
"If you tried to create the ideal moderate Supreme Court nominee in a laboratory, it would be hard to do better than Judge Merrick Garland. In nominating Judge Garland to fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia last month, President Obama has taken his constitutional duty seriously, choosing a deeply respected federal appellate judge with an outstanding intellect, an impeccable legal record, and the personal admiration of Republicans and Democrats." [3/16/16]

Bloomberg  News Editorial: Merrick Garland Deserves a Hearing
"There are at least two criteria on which to judge President Barack Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court. First are his qualifications. Second is the ideological space that he would occupy on a polarized court in a polarized political environment. Garland is a superb choice on both counts." [3/16/16]

USA Today Editorial: Give Judge Garland a hearing
"Neither side comes to this fight with clean hands. But blocking consideration of a Supreme Court nominee, one who appears to have impeccable credentials and fall within the broad judicial mainstream, for almost an entire year will only invite similar retribution when the situation is reversed. Garland deserves better. The country deserves better." [3/16/16]

San Jose Mercury News Editorial: Garland is superb court nominee
"Merrick Garland is a superb nomination by President Obama to fill Justice Antonin Scalia's seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. The chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit is a moderate who is widely respected by both Democrats and Republicans for his integrity, judgment, intellect and basic decency. It would be a irresponsible for Republicans in the U.S. Senate to withhold consideration of Garland's nomination for strictly political reasons." [3/16/16]

Ventura County Star Editorial: Republicans should not play politics with Supreme Court nominee
"President Barack Obama has named an eminently qualified and highly respected judge, Merrick Garland, as his nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. If you read his background, if you look at the legal opinions he has written in the 18 years he has served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, you will find him to be a good person with a great legal mind. He is a nominee that meets all of our criteria for someone who will raise the legal and intellectual level of the Supreme Court." [3/16/16]

Denver Post Editorial: Senate should give Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland a hearing
"This is the final year of Obama's presidency and Republican senators have insisted they will not hold hearings on any nominee. Yet even if they stick to that pledge — and they likely will — the nomination of Merrick Garland ought to give them pause. It ought to give them pause if for no other reason than the fact that their party appears headed toward the potentially disastrous choice of Donald Trump as presidential nominee, a candidate who will be a difficult sell to the general electorate." [3/16/16]

Delaware News Journal Editorial: Court obstructionism nothing but bluster
"Elected officials like McConnell and Vitter say they’re beholden to the best interests of the American people. If, through hearings, it emerged that Merrick Garland was not fit for the highest court in our land, we would be the first to thank legislators like McConnell and Vitter for shining a light on the President’s erroneous nomination. But, by refusing to do their jobs, McConnell, Vitter and the other obstructionists are serving only to get their names engraved on some sort of monument to bluster." [3/16/16]

Baltimore Sun Editorial: The man in the middle
"Are Republicans so determined to appear willful that they'd sacrifice a national election? President Barack Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland, the widely-respected, centrist chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, may be regarded as an apolitical choice — if only because the former federal prosecutor is hardly the dream pick of his party's progressive wing. But in reality, the political implications are substantial: Should Republicans fulfill their threat to not even hold hearings on the nominee, they demonstrate the party's true Achilles heel, an inability to compromise or put the nation's interests ahead of their own." [3/16/16]

Legal Experts

He’s a consensus builder, and has a very keen analytic mind. When other judges are off in the summer taking their vacations, Merrick is in his chambers polishing his opinions.

Seth Waxman, 3/16/16

American Constitution Society: “‘Like President Obama’s previous nominations to the Supreme Court, Chief Judge Garland is impeccably qualified to serve. His credentials cannot be questioned, he is a person of integrity and he would bring an understanding of how the world works to the nation’s highest court.” [American Constitution Society, 3/16/16]

Former D.C. Circuit clerk Michael Livermore: "He's very precedent based and it's fair to say less ideological than others, which tends to facilitate a consensus." [3/16/16]

Jonathan Adler: "First, he has impeccable credentials... Garland is incredibly well-respected and has a reputation as a moderate liberal judge....For what it’s worth, were I in the Senate I would vote to confirm Garland to the Supreme Court, but I’ve always supported the prompt consideration and confirmation of all qualified judicial nominees." [Washington Post, 3/16/16]

Jeffrey Toobin, New Yorker: “And the one thing that you can see about this nomination is that it really does take the issue of qualifications off the table. There is certainly no one in the United States more qualified to be on the Supreme Court than Merrick Garland.” [CNN, 3/16/16] 

Tom Goldstein, SCOTUSblog: “He just went for the guy who seemed to be the very, very most qualified. And so he just put it out there and said, I've done my job. You do yours. He doesn't seem to be putting any other kinds of political pressure on Senate Republicans beyond qualifications.” [MSNBC, 3/16/16]  

Seth Waxman, an appellate partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr and former Solicitor General: “He’s exceptionally modest and careful in everything that he does. He’s a consensus builder, and has a very keen analytic mind. When other judges are off in the summer taking their vacations, Merrick is in his chambers polishing his opinions.” [Wall Street Journal, 3/16/16]

Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe: “Judge Garland is a brilliant jurist whom I’ve admired ever since he was my constitutional law student. His modesty, humility, and moderation make him a particularly suitable choice for these divided times.” [Wall Street Journal, 3/16/16]

David Pozen, Columbia Law School: “He's not someone who likes to issue sweeping rulings… he doesn't favor grand pronouncements that go beyond the case at hand.” [USA Today, 3/16/16]

Jamie Gorelick, former Deputy Attorney General: “We had a lot of very seasoned prosecutors, but when you have a matter that is both substantively difficult and cuts across the department, a really talented person such as Merrick will lead those…” [Washington Post, 3/16/16]  

Michael Greenberger, University Of Maryland Professor: “He’s extremely well qualified, and he’s a superb judge… he’s widely revered on both sides of the aisle. If the White House is looking to get somebody through . . . He would be a great candidate.” [Washington Post, 3/16/16]    

Community Leaders

President Obama acted in the country’s best interest this morning by nominating Judge Merrick Garland to serve as associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

National Partnership for Women & Families, 3/16/16

Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights: “Judge Garland is the most well-prepared Supreme Court nominee in generations.” [Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Press Release, 3/16/16]

National Partnership for Women & Families: “President Obama acted in the country’s best interest this morning by nominating Judge Merrick Garland to serve as associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. He is a strong choice, with impeccable credentials, who deserves speedy confirmation by the Senate.” [National Partnership for Women & Families Press Release, 3/16/16]

Constitutional Accountability Center President Elizabeth Wydra: “Judge Garland is an excellent jurist who has enjoyed bipartisan support throughout his career. Elevated to chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 2012, he has built a distinguished career on the bench and has earned the universal respect of his peers on the court and the bar.” [Constitutional Accountability Center, 3/16/16]

That's just a fraction of the support Chief Judge Merrick Garland has earned in response to impressive career and today's nomination. Stay up to date with the latest on the Supreme Court nominee and the next steps in the nomination process:

• Follow @SCOTUSnom on Twitter
• Visit obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/scotus