Senator Hatch Reacts to Meeting with Judge Garland…That Hasn’t Happened Yet
Senator Orrin Hatch hasn’t yet met with Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, but you wouldn’t know that if you saw his op-ed published on the Deseret News website yesterday morning.
In the op-ed (which has since been removed from the website), Senator Hatch writes that he thinks highly of Judge Garland’s “character and credentials,” but that their meeting did not change his position that the Senate should continue to not act on Judge Garland’s nomination. Given that Senator Hatch wrote this before he actually met with Judge Garland, it appears he never intended to give Judge Garland a fair shot.
Senator Hatch’s meeting with Judge Garland has yet to be scheduled, but when it does Senator Hatch might want to review the letter he and Senator Leahy sent to the Judiciary Committee in 2001. In that letter, they note “the important constitutional role of the Senate in connection with Supreme Court nominations” and informing the Committee that they were “prepared to examine carefully and assess such presidential nominations.” Senators Hatch and Leahy conclude the letter with, “We both recognize and have every intention of following the practices and precedents of the Committee and the Senate when considering Supreme Court nominees.”
Senator Leahy, Senate Democrats, and two Senate Republicans continue to recognize those “practices and precedents” and are ready and waiting for the opportunity to “examine carefully and assess” Judge Garland’s nomination. Senator Hatch should do the same. Stop playing politics with this nomination—its time you start to #DoYourJob.