At 11 a.m. Wednesday (March 16), President Barack Obama announced federal appeals court judge, Merrick Garland as his pick to fill the Supreme Court Justice seat, following the passing of Justice Antonin Scalia.
Standing before a press conference at the foot of the Rose Garden of the White House, President Obama officially named Garland his nominee, praising him for his dedication, “decency, modesty, integrity, even-handedness, and excellence.” With Garland standing beside him, Obama also ran through the judge’s background, from his humble beginnings as a youth in Chicago to his college and law school days.
Prior to the nomination, Garland has been serving as the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. As chief judge, he handled some of the most publicized investigations during Clinton’s presidency including the Oklahoma City bombing, the Unabomber case, and the Atlanta Olympics bombing. He holds the position of a moderate.
This nomination is undoubtedly another defining moment for the president as he begins to make his departure from the White House. “It is both my constitutional duty to nominate a Justice and one of the most important decisions that I — or any president — will make,” President Obama said of his nomination.
.@POTUS nominates Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court https://t.co/qTkSnYWH0O
— POLITICO (@politico) March 16, 2016
“This is the greatest honor of my life.”
Merrick Garland accepts Obama’s #SCOTUS nomi https://t.co/XMoLp10Mcr pic.twitter.com/CpyigUUUhT
— Mashable (@mashable) March 16, 2016