Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch continued his campaign against confirming a new U.S. Supreme Court Justice before electing a new president at a speech at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute.
Once again Sen. Orrin Hatch has spoken out in defense of the Senate’s decision to wait to confirm any Supreme Court nominee. Hatch says the Constitution does not mandate a one-size-fits all confirmation process and that moving ahead during a contentious presidential election would do more harm than good.
“The issue is when and how, not whether, the Senate will consider a nominee for the Scalia vacancy,” Hatch says.
Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont also spoke during the event at the Kennedy Institute. He is the ranking Democratic member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that is normally tasked with holding confirmation hearings. He says it would be historic for the Senate to not at least give nominee Merrick Garland a public hearing.
“Well this Senator does not want that to be part of the history of the United States Senate," Leahy says. "You should demand your senators do their job by providing this nominee a public hearing so he can respond to the attacks on his record.”
While there have been a few Republican Senators that have agreed to meet with Garland, it’s highly unlikely that majority leadership will change their minds and hold confirmation hearings before the election.
