Senate Democrats are betting on a Feb. 8 confirmation hearing Merrick Garland
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Garland has yet to receive a hearing weeks after his nomination, in part because of a peculiarity that has left Republicans in retaining control of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Although Democrats have a Senate majority, Republicans still control committees because the Senate has not yet approved a power-sharing agreement. Without an organizational resolution, the Senate committees follow the organization of the 116th Congress. That leaves the senator. Lindsey Graham
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His. Dick Durbin
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“I find it unfortunate that we have not been able to reach an agreement on a timetable for processing this candidacy. Although I remain committed to working with you and Senator Grassley, a member of the Committee’s incoming ranking, to find bipartisan consensus on the timetable, simply there is no justification for further delaying Judge Garland’s hearing, “Durbin wrote in the letter.
Durbin hinted in his letter that Graham is currently refusing to hold a hearing in Garland on Feb. 8, writing, “I hope … you will reconsider your objections to proceeding with a Feb. 8 hearing.”
Graham’s spokesmen did not immediately respond to a question about Durbin’s request.
If Graham does not accept a Feb. 8 hearing, Durbin warned he was “ready to take other steps to expedite the Senate’s consideration of Judge Garland’s nomination if his hearing does not advance on Feb. 8.”
A Durbin spokesman did not immediately provide details on what steps he would be willing to take. But Durbin defended Garland in his letter.
“It is a widespread and consensual election that should be quickly confirmed both in terms of its merits and in the urgent need to respond to the January 6 insurgency and other national security risks,” Durbin wrote.
Democrats can confirm Garland without Republican Party support once his nomination is on the Senate floor. Under a rule change enacted by Senate Democrats in 2013, lower-level judicial elections and executive candidates only need a simple majority to defeat a filibuster and eventually be confirmed.
It’s not the first time Republicans have refused to give Garland an audience.
Former President Obama nominated him to the Supreme Court in 2016, but Republicans refused to give his candidacy a hearing or a vote because of the upcoming presidential election. In 2020, Republicans set a new record for the next presidential election that a Supreme Court candidate has been confirmed when they put Justice Amy Coney Barrett
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Graham praised Garland earlier this year, when Biden chose him to be his candidate for attorney general, calling him a “good choice.”
“If the media reports are accurate, I think Judge Garland would be a good choice to be the next attorney general. He is a man of great character, integrity and great competence in the law,” tweeted Graham at the time. .