today i'm nominating merrick garland to join the supreme court. [ applause ] now, in law enforcement circles and in the legal community at large, judge garland needs no introduction. but i'd like to take a minute to introduce merrick to the people whom he already so ably serves. he was born and raised in the land of lincoln, in my home town of chicago, in my home state of illinois. his mother volunteered in the community, his father ran a small business out of their home inherenting that work ethic, he became valedictorian of his high school and graduated from harvard and put himself through harvard law school by working as a tutor, by stocking shoes in a shoe store and in what is always a painful moment for any young man, by selling his comic book collection. it's tough. been there. merrick graduated from harvard law and the early years of his legal career bear all of the marks of excellence. he clerked for two president eisenhower's appointees, first for judge henry friendly and then for supreme court justice william brennan. following his clerkships, merrick joined a highly regarde

it's very difficult to label merrick garland. he is certainly not a fulbright circuit marshall. 18has an outstanding record, intellect, and has garnered swath of the broad american people. i think it will be difficult on for republicans and their counterparts to really challenge him given the fact so many conservative lawyers, interest groups have praised his work on the d.c. circuit. if a democrat wins the white house in november, could that person renominate merrick garland? there.n: i'm not going [laughter] ms. aron: i think merrick garland is really a stellar nominee. i think he should be confirmed. i think he will be a wonderful addition to the supreme court. i think he should be confirmed this year and then with the upcoming vacancies, which we assume will occur, after all, three of the justices will be in their 80's 2018, which means the next president might have the opportunity to name several more supreme court justices. should confirm merrick garland this year and see what happens in the future. shortlistnames on the ,

so that's odd for merrick garland. on the other hand, as you have been hearing from ari and others, merrick garland is someone who is extremely well respected here in washington, in the senate, by republicans. when he was confirmed in 1997, 32 republicans voted for him. out of the 76 who voted to confirm him. and the only no votes were really based on considerations of the size of the federal court of appeals in 1997. there was and continues to be something of a controversy about whether the d.c. court of appeals has too many judges given its work load, and that was really the issue. not many people opposed him because of who he was. he has prosecution experience, as you have said. he served in the justice department in the clinton administration. and worked very in a high visible role in the oklahoma city bombing case, and also in the unabomber case. so he has a lot of support, bipartisan support, and he's also well liked. that helps, too. he's a friend of many members of the senate, republicans and democrats. so what

. >> let's talk about merrick garland. senator mcconnell said this isn't about a person, but it is. what kind of pressure is on him right now? and is there anything he can do? can he knock on doors of members of the judiciary committee and try to get a hearing? >> usually when a person is nominated they will spending a few weeks preparing for the confirmation hearings, and the confirmation hearings are political theater, where they sit before the committee and withstand questioning for two, three, four, days. and this will be unlikely confirmation battle that i have seen in my lifetime, simply because the republicans have refused to even -- to -- to hold hearings, much less take -- take a vote. so the -- the key here i think is merrick garland's impeccable credentials. i was impressed by his presence there and poise. his personal touch. all of those things will work in his favor. and this will be -- his -- his no, ma'am -- nomination will be the most scrutinized nomination in the history of the court. >> the history of the

nominee, you would reach out for merrick garland. and in that sense, if you just say, who has the objective qualifications, who would republicans have the hardest time saying no to, it's definitely merrick garland. but the thing is that he is the exact opposite of what you would expect if you were saying that the president was trying to motivate democrats to rally behind or trying to help a democrat in the presidential election. because he's a 63-year-old white guy. he is a deeply respected, probably the most deeply respected democratic appointee on the bench. in some ways, some narrow ways, he's slightly more conservative than justice scalia, particularly on criminal law issues. it's not surprising to hear people say that democratic groups are a little bit disappointed about the lost opportunity. i think i have a little bit of a different take than a lot of people about this. i think only barack obama would ever have made this nomination. he's a former constitutional law professor. i think he takes this nomination deeply personally.

today i am nominating chief judge merrick garland to serve the supreme court. applause] >> in law enforcement circles and the legal community at large, judge garland needs no introduction. i would like to introduce merrick garland to the american people whom he so ably serves. he was born and raised in the land of lincoln, my hometown of chicago, my home state of illinois. his mother volunteered in the community. his father ran a small business in their home. inheriting that work ethic he became valedictorian of his public high school, earning a scholarship to harvard where he graduated summa come out of. he worked as a tutor, stocking shoes in a shoe store and what is always a painful moment for any young man, selling his comic book collection. [laughter] >> been there. he graduated from harvard law and the early years of his legal career bear the traditional marks of excellence, he clerked for two of president eisenhower's judicial appointees, a legendary judge on the second circuit, judge henry friendly, and supreme court justice brennan. following his clerks

you mentioned merrick garland. many of the current justices served on this circuit before being elevated to the supreme court. garland has a 19-year paper trail on the bench. that could be a plus or a minus. there is also p soft judge sri srinivasan. he is foreign born. he was born in india and grew up in kansas. he served in the solicitor general's office in the bush and oba administration. he's younger at 29. but republicans including the senate judiciary chair chuck grassley say it's not going to happen. >> this president will not be filling this current vacancy. but the president indicated he intends to submit a nomination. that's okay. he's constitutionally empowered to make the nomination and the senate holds the constitutional power to with hold consent. reporter: i think the person he picks will tell us a lot about what kinds of fight he plans to have. to put up judge sri srinivasan would ask republicans to block someone who was approved by 90% of the senate. i can tell you some conservative groups put toget

and then merrick garland. he's widely respected across both sides of the aisle and is considered by many a moderate judge. he's been waiting in the wings for this opportunity for years after he was picked over for the last two seats on the high court. a graduate of harvard and harvard law school and served at the department of justice. he's 63 years old and the conventional wisdom would be that obama would prefer someone younger. of course carroll this is a unique time with republicans vowing not to hold a hearing so anything is possible. >> you are right about that pamela brown. if i were a betting woman i would say sri srinivasan and only because the senate confirmed his position on the u.s. court of appeals 97-0. marco rubio and ted cruz voted in support. and manu raju now, despite that there is already a push on the floor of the senate to defeat whoever the nominee may be. >> that's right. this started as soon as the vacancy arose. mitch mcconnell said we should wait to the next president to see that repub

merrick garland, when he went to the d.c. circuit in 1997, he had 32 republicans voting for his confirmation. seven of them are still in the senate today. a few weeks ago, orrin hatch praised him. it's very difficult to label merrick garland. he is certainly not a fulbright circuit marshall. he has an outstanding record, intellect, and has garnered praise from a broad swath of the american people. i think it will be difficult on the merit for republicans and their counterparts to really challenge him given the fact so many conservative lawyers, interest groups have praised his work on the d.c. circuit. >> if a democrat wins the white house in november, could that person renominate merrick garland? ms. aron: i'm not going there. [laughter] ms. aron: i think merrick garland is really a stellar nominee. i think he should be confirmed. i think he will be a wonderful addition to the supreme court. i think he should be confirmed this year and then with the upcoming vacancies, which we assume will occur, after all, three of the just

and that is in part because of who judge merrick garland is but it is also in part because judge garland's nomination is happening now. judge garland's nomination is happening this year in this political environment with all this mishigas as the background political noise in the party. president obama seems to think in this time, in this place with the national politics we're having right now, merrick garland is the one key that will turn in this particular lock. is he right? joining us now is my friend, dahlia lithwick, senior editor at slate. i'm glad you could be with us tonight. thanks for being here. >> thanks for having me, rachel. >> is merrick garland a liberal or a moderate? >> he's a liberal-moderate. somewhere between the two. he has a 19-year judicial record, rachel, so whatever he is, he's not a mystery and i think he's pretty much a obama kind of reach across the aisle consensus building, incremental, judicial humility moderate liberal guy. >> one of the other criteria touted about some of the other people said to be on the short list for this pick were they had been confirme

now, merrick garland is an eminently qualified justice. qualified that, last week, republican senator orrin hatch held garland up as an ideal bipartisan choice calling the justice "a fine man" before adding that obama probably wouldn't pick him because he's too moderate, and back in 2010, hatch called garland "a consensus nominee." well, g.o.p., obama picked the moderate, so does that mean senate majority leader and old-age mutant ninja turtle mitch mcconnell will relent in his blockade against an obama nominee? no, it does not. >> according to his spokesperson, mcconnell called garland today to let him know, "since the senate will not be acting on this nomination, he would not be holding a perfunctory meeting, but me -- but he wished judge garland well. >> larry: called him? mcconnell broke up with him over the phone? (as mcconnell) "hi, ms. garland. uh, is merrick home? hey, merrick. this is mitch. how's it going? yeah, me, too. look, i don't think i'll be able to see ya. well, i just got out of a long relationship with another justice.

we will be discussing judge merrick garland. we will talk to bloomberg news greg store. president obama: today i am nominating merrick brian garland to join the supreme court. ♪ >> president obama has made his pick for the vacancy on the supreme court to replace the late justice antonin scalia a. grad,garland is a college chief judge for the district of columbia, but republicans failed to budge saying he will not get a hearing and will not get a vote. we want to get your thoughts on merrick garland as the supreme court nominee. .emocrats, (202) 748-8000 republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. we will get to your calls in just a minute, but let's begin with president obama in the rose garden yesterday talking about why he has chosen judge garland as his pick for the supreme court. : i have sought the advice of republican and democratic members of congress, reached out to every member of the judiciary committee, the bar associations, representing an array of interests and opinions from all across the spectrum. today, after completing this exhaustive proce

said, in all honesty, i would like to see one person come to this floor and say one reason why merrick garland does not deserve this position. he actually accused fellow senate republicans, trying to obstruct merrick's confirmation, of playing politics with judges. he has since said that judge nominee for the supreme court, who would be very well supported by all sides and there would be no question that merrick would be confirmed with bipartisan support. ultimately, merrick was confirmed to the d.c. circuit. second highest court in the land. with votes from a majority of democrats and from republicans. three years ago, he was elevated to chief judge. in his 19 years on the d.c. circuit, judge garland has brought his trademark diligence, compassion and unwavering regard for the rule of law to his work. on a circuit court known for strong-minded judges, on both ends of the spectrum, judge garland has earned a track record of building consensus as a thoughtful, fair-minded judge who follows the law. bring together odd couples, assemble unlikely coalitions, persuade colleagues with wide ranging p

merrick fp garland was confirmed in 1997. after at that time seven republican senators still sitting in the sonar, those seven senators actually voted for merrick garland, including senator orrin hatch, who had this to say about him, talking about merrick garland in 1997. >> based on his qualifications, i support the nomination of mr. garland, and i encourage my colleagues to do the same. to my knowledge, no one, absolutely no one disputes the following -- merrick garland is highly qualified to sit on the d.c. circuit. his intelligence and scholarship cannot be questioned. >> now, hatch has said that things have changed now. he put out a statement saying really agreeing with senator mcconnell, and chuck grassley, saying i think highly of judge garland, but his nomination doesn't in any way change current circumstances. those circumstances being that the republicans just will not consider a nominee, no matter who he is. some is republicans in touch reelection races will feel a lot of pressure, mark crook, the illinois republic

sources, many sources indicating that the president will nominate federal appeals court judge, merrick garland, to the supreme court. judge garland, a little bit about him, he's 63 years old. he's the chief judge for the united states court of appeals for the district of columbia circuit. reading from the associated press this morning, as we watch members gather here for the announcement. judge garland is a long time jurist, former prosecutor known as a consensus builder on what is often dubbed the nation's second highest court. he would replace conservative justice antonin scalia who died last month leaving behind a bitter election year fight over the future of the court. of course there has been reaction as expected to the coming announcement from the associated press, new york democratic senator chuck schumer says, merrick garland is a bipartisan choice for the supreme court and asks if the republicans can't support him, who can they support? also, some tweets from members of congress. congressman -- senator mike lee has said, any meeting with scotus nominee would only be a waste of the sen

of becoming justice merrick garland. we're going to be talking about with this nomination means. this nomination happened today in the context of this red-hot political campaign that we're in right now. right? this unusually insane process we're having this year of trying to choose a successor to president obama. i mean, today, alone, we've got senator rubio dropping out of the race. we've got the real prospect that marco rubio may go further than quitting the presidential race. he may actually quit his u.s. senate seat rather than return to it. part of the way senator rubio campaigned for the presidency was by talking openly about how much he hated the job of being a u.s. senator. brags about the fact that he basically never showses up for that job. trying to turn his worst voting record in the senate into some sort of political advantage because he hates the senate so much. he's been open about that. right? so there's the prospect that he will also quit the senate. that's out there today. we've also got former rubio su

said, in all honesty, i would like to see one person come to this floor and say one reason why merrick garland does not deserve this position? he actually accused fellow senate republicans trying to obstruct merrick's confirmation of playing politics with judges. and he has since said that judge garland would be a consensus nominee for the supreme court who would be very well supported by all sides and there would be , no question merrick would be confirmed with bipartisan support. ultimately merrick was confirmed , to the d.c. circuit. the second highest court in the land. with votes from a majority of democrats and a majority of republicans. three years ago, he was elevated to chief judge. and in his 19 years on the d.c. circuit, judge garland has brought his trademark diligence, compassion, and unwavering regard for the rule of law to his work. a circuit court known for strong-minded judges on both ends of the spectrum, judge garland has earned a track record as a thoughtful, fair-minded judge who follows the law. he's shown a rare ability to bring together odd couples. assemble unlikely co

the one name that has come up repeatedly from republicans and democrats alike is merrick garland garland. now i recognize that we have entered the political season or perhaps these days it never ends, a political season that is even noisier and more volatile than usual. point to dememrats who have made it hard for republican presidents to get their nominees confirmed and they're not wrong about that. there's been politics involved in nominations in the past ahough it should be pointed out that in each of those instances democrats ultimately cofirmed a nominee put forward by a republican president. i also know that because of justice scalia's outside role in the court and in american law and in the fact that americans are closely divided on a number of issues before the court, it is tempting to make this confirmation process simply an extension of our divided politics. the squabbling that's going on in the news every dada but to go down that path would it would be a betrayal of our best traditions, and a betrayal of the vision of our founding documents. at a time when our politics are so

judge merrick garland made the round meeting with democrats. john terrett reports. >> reporter: good evening, merrick garland made the drive up capitol hill. it's true, a handful have begun reaching out. it's a hard party line. no nomination or confirmation hearing and no up or down vote. the white house sells its man hard. one day after the nomination. the judge was in capitol hill, in whose hands his fate lies. both democrats, as the republicans show few signs of backing down on refusing merrick garland a hearing. leahy says it's the most important vote that has to be made. >> it's too important. they shouldn't talk by phone. >> he has referring to mitch mcconnell who spoke by phone, saying he had no plans to schedule a hearing. on the senate floor they noted how the nomination could change the direction of the court. and republicans and democrats disagree on that. >> republicans think the people deserve a voice in this decision. the president does not. so we disagree in this instance. as a result we act as a check and balance. >> mitch mccon

a half ofs do senators is said they will meet with merrick garland and late this week, illinois senator kirk said "just man up and cast a vote." it has been only four days and it seems line your ranks are breaking, sir. >> well, senator kirk is a trick senator running for re-election this year and he is going to be re-elected in november. what we need to focus on is the principle, the principle, who ought to make the appointment? you have to go back 80 years to find the last time a vacancy created in an election year was filled, become to 1888 when cleveland was in the white house to find the last time when a vacancy was created in a presidential area a senate controlled by the party honest the party confirmed. the senate has a relative to play here. the president nominates, we decide to confirm. we thing the important principle in the middle of the presidential election that the american people need to weigh in and decide who is going to make this decision. not this lame duck president on the way out the door but the next president, next year. >> you are talking about principle and fig

john, tell us more about merrick garland. >> yes, it is merrick garland, by the way.te house saying within the past 20 minutes or so, that no one is better suited. he has more federal judicial experience than any other supreme court nominee in history. he is 63 years old. he is a harvard graduate as are five members of the existing supreme court, as was justice scalia. he is currently the chief justice at the court of appeals in the washington, d.c. circuit, and at 63 years old, he will be the oldest nominee for the supreme court since lewis powell. that was back in 1972. he was 64 when he was nomined. merrick garland was nominated by the senate in his present position by 70 votes to 23 back in 1997. so merrick garland has had 19 years experience, and he has been waiting for his chance to go to the supreme court. his name was in the frame when president obama nominated elaine kagan, and son you sotomayor, but he got passed over at that point. his reputation is one of moderation. he is seen as a conservative when it comes to criminal justice issues. and the president h

court of judge merrick garland. the president urged the senate to have confirmation hearings. we will also hear from judge garland at this half hour event. president obama: good morning. everybody please have a seat. of the many powers and responsibilities the constitution vests in the presidency, few are more consequential than appointing a supreme court justice. particularly one to succeed justice scalia, one of the most influential jurist of our time. the men and women who sit on the supreme court are the final arbiters of american law. they safeguard our rights. they ensure that our system is one of laws and not men. they are charged with the essential task of applying principles put to paper more than two centuries ago to some of the most challenging questions of our time. so this is not a responsibility that i take lightly. it's a decision that requires me to set aside short-term expediency and narrow politics so as to maintain faith with our founders and perhaps more importantly with future generations. that's why over the past several weeks i have done my best to set up

i'm curious if you've had time and even before we knew that it was merrick garland to talk to your republican colleagues. what is the path forward? is there something beyond pressure that you think may happen from the public? >> i've known judge garland for years. having been a law clerk to a supreme court justice and prosecutors myself, i believe he has the kind of persuasive story that can persuade voters and put some apprehension in the mind and hearts of those republicans who face the ballot box this november. and so i think there is a powerful dynamic at work here. for the senate to be required to do its job. and for republicans to join in believing that there is a need for it. >> let me play for you something the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell said earlier today, something he calls the biden rule. >> let me remind colleagues of what vice president biden says when he was chairman of the judiciary committee here in the senate. here's what he said. it would be our pragmatic conclusion that once a political season is under way, and it is, action on a supreme court nomination must be

did he say "merrick garland"?'t get me wrong, merrick garland's a good name for a judge, but it's a great name for so many other things. for instance, merrick garland, a sexy bayou vampire in an anne rice novel. or how about merrick garland, an old country estate outside of atlanta that was probably built by slaves? or merrick garland, an evil oil tycoon from an '80s prime time soap opera? what's that, ghost scalia? the kind of evil oil tycoon who could smother a supreme court justice with a pillow at a texas ranch? what?! justice scalia, your sleep number is... eternity. ha ha ha ha ha! ♪ (applause) i don't know why we're staying on that story. excuse me? one of america's finest justices doesn't deserve justice? now, merrick garland is an eminently qualified justice. so qualified that, last week, republican senator orrin hatch held garland up as an ideal bipartisan choice calling the justice "a fine man" before adding that obama probably wouldn't pick him because he's too moderate, and back in 2010, hatch called

judge merrick garland. we saw them moments ago in the rose garden. ying out the qualifications of judge garland, the senior judge on the d.c. circuit court of appeals. judge garland calling it the honor of his life, getting emotional as he talked about what a privilege it has been and will be to serve on the supreme court if indeed he is confirmed by the senate. i want to go to mary bruce who covers capitol hill. mitch mcconnell expected to respond to the president. we heard jon karl say in the special reports, this is not about judge garland the man, it is about the process. >> the republicans are not burjing saying no way will they consider -- it has nothing to do with him. but principle. even people who supported him in the past. senate republicans who supported his confirmation say it doesn't matter. that he's how strongly they feel. democrats are bracing for a big fight here. they plan to go after senate republicans hard on this one with the hope they may change their mind. that looks very unlikely. >> it sure does. the president raising the stak

he supported merrick garland for the d.c. circuit court. 's already spoken to judge garland today and said he will not consider him. so no confirmation hearings at all? >> none at all. >> would you be willing to let that happen at all? >> i'll tell you what's funny about this, chuck. josh earnest said all of this with a straight face, and that's kind of comical, because he knows very well, he heard mitch mcconnell after the tragic death of our justice, and he said under no circumstances are we going to do this. if you go back and look in history, the last time this was done would have been 139 years ago. there's been a precedent that has been living since, oh, 1888, i think -- >> well, a lot of people have reinterpreted these precedents. there are certainly some way to say there have been some confirmations that did take place in presidential years. election years. >> no, not in presidential years, but the statement that we made was actually accurate. and i thought it was very clear what mitch mcconnell said, and i was very proud of him for

merrick garland was introduced by the president yesterday, the chief judge of the u.s. court of appeals in washington. garland faces an uphill fight to esident should fill the vacancy on the court. soon after naming garland, the president challenged the republican position. >> it's supposed to be above politics. it has to be. and it should stay that way. >> senate majority leader mitch mcconnell has spoken with garland on the phone. mcconnell sayshere will be no confirmation heang for garland scheduled. at least republican senators are open to meeting with garland in the cong w wks. >> the michigan uber driver accused of killing six people is now suiug uber. in the handwritten lawsuit, jason dalton accuses uber of ripping him off and failing to pay back wage boston he's suing for $10 million. according to police, he said a devil figure on uber's app was controlling him when he allegedly killed the six people. uber responded saying it's hard to know how to respond to sosoone who refuses to take responsibility for his own actions. >>> and this case in d.c. just keeps getti

vonnie: is merrick garland the most obvious choice? may notsri srinivasan have been easier to get the nomination process underway. marek has been considered in the past. as i said, wonderfully qualified, would be a terrific justice. that said, i was a little surprised, even though i'm happy for merrick. one reason i'm surprised, his age, he is my age. typically, presidents are reluctant to appoint people in their early 60's. they like younger people who will be there for a long time, so that made him a somewhat like -- less likely candidate. to your point, the back story of sri srinivasan, being an indian american immigrant, and attractive that story that would make it difficult for republicans to resist. vonnie: definitely would be one of the older ones, john robert is the youngest. he is 61. david: when he was appointed, he was much younger. vonnie: i want to go back to senator hutchison. according to recent polls, two thirds of americans want a to gotion process through. only a third say they do not. will the republicans listen to t

after much anticipation, merrick garland has been announced by the president as his pick to replace antonin scalia on the high court. garland was well known to the white house. he has been on the short list before, but lost out to kagin and sotomayer. he's a graduate of harvard and harvard law school. he worked as a shoe clerk and tutor through school. he worked as a federal prosecutor. he is 63 years old. on the older side for a nominee. that could be something that helps with the gop. this is seen as his last shot for the seat and the fact he has less to lose. republican senators are coming out and vowing not to hold a hearing. even senators who voted for him in 1997. they say they still like him, but staying true to the party line. merrick garland will be on the hill soon meeting with senators lahey and reid. this will push. the white house is hoping that republicans will change course, change their mind and hold a hearing after public pressure. >> thank you, pamela. >>> a nerve wracking year for investors. a milestone that could lead to a better return for your 401(k). you can look agai

i don't think they expected him to put merrick garland in. think they said, all right, we'll do hearings and a vote. and always too liberal. barack obama came out of the rose garden the other day with merrick garland, days after orrin hatch said he doesn't have the ves particular fortitude. that's when it went up in smoke and now they can't have hearings, because on every metric, merrick garland is going to pass with flying colors. in fact, some people are saying he has a better resume than john roberts, chief justice roberts. >> i know orrin hatch, if he smokes the smoke in all the cigarettes. 2010 was a disaster for democrats, electorally. but a lot of republican senators in places like wisconsin, ohio, even north carolina, which can be a swing state. barack obama won it once, he won it in 2008. these are the guys who are in a really tough position. because the polling is clear. you can put it up again. approve or disapprove of the senate obstruction. independents disapprove of this. 57-25. even republicans disapprove. -- i mean, approve on

i think that's a very important what makes merrick garland the person that he is. because if you look at his beings, he tends to deferential to federal agencies but tough on criminal defendants. duality.at sort of he's been on the court of appeals. the now the chief judge of washington, d.c. court of appeals for 19 years. let me tell you what a careful man he is. the roses speech in garden, he served i've served for 18 years. butas three days shy of 19, he said 18. that's the kind of careful person he is. confirmed in 1977. he had 32 republicans voting for of whom are still in office. so he's -- >> and he's been on the short list for a long time. 2010, you were on this program, at this table, and you said he was on the short list even then. was, when the president considered sonia sotomayor. and again when the president considered elena kagan, he was left at the altar, both times. the president liked him in the previous two sessions. that's the impression that we've gotten. i just think that this was the time. he's the right man for the job, meaning that politicall

we're back in 60 seconds. >>> a lot of you probably want to know more about merrick garland who presidentes regularly hear cases on national security and federal policy. garland is 63 years old and in other words he is not considered a young candidate who will have a long-term influence on the court. he also went to harvard law school and he called the nomination a greatest moment of his life except for his wife agreed to marry him. >> i'm finally glad to see the weather is warming up again. lauren rick its with more on what to expect for the rest o good morning. >> good morning. we are looking at a warm-up today. as we continue into the weekend, temperatures are going to fall. so, definitely eat some lunch outside today. plenty of sunshine now. a few clouds filling in later. we could have a chance for some showers or thunderstorms rolling through the region with the weak frontal system. atmosphere really stable right now and not expecting anything widespread and we could have an isolated thunderstorm and i want to mention it with so many car tons roadways getting into the evening. now, w

reporter: the evident hurdles have not diminished in emotional moment for merrick garland. >> thank your. president. this is the greatest honor of my life. r than wife agreeing to marry 28 ye reporter: next, obama says garland is set to meet senators one on one in the days ahead. but filling the seat left by conservative antonin scalia will not be easy. anchor: let's talk to one of our correspondents in washington about this. tell us more about the reaction from the republicans. how are they planning to block this nominatioby president obama? reporter: right after president obama made the announcement, mitch mcconnell, the republican majority leader of the senate, went public, saying that we will not conduct any hearing regarding his nomination. so this is basically not new. it reaffirms what he said in the past. they do not want to make this decision with president obama being in office. they want to wait until the american public has elected a new president, hoping that it will be a republican, and the pic would be a more conservative judge in the supreme court. anchor: the question o

this is merrick garland, whom the president did nominate.e would like to have that quickly taken care of so we can fill the seat, but this is the quote from senator pat toomey, who said, "with the u.s. supreme court's balance at stake, and with the presidential election fewer than eight months away," he wants more of a voice to be heard, and here's our next graphic to tell you that he is asking, "it is wise to give the american people a more direct voice in the selection and confirmation of the next justice, but should merrick garland be nominated again by the next president, i would be happy to carefully consider his nomination." so he's asking to upend the normal system that we have in place for a president, a sitting president nominating someone and having them go through the senate selection process and being confirmed or not. he just doesn't want to bother with all that and save the time and the money. >> monica, i break with my fellow conservatives on this on the process, because i believe that the advise and consent of the senate is a

as they did when they confirmed merrick garland to the d.c.it, i asked that they confirm merrick garland now to the supreme court. so that he can take his seat in time to fully participate in its work for the american people this fall. he is the right man for the job. he deserves to be confirmed. i could not be prouder of the work that he has already done on the behalf of the american people. he deserves our thanks and he deserves a fair hearing. and with that, i would like to invite judge garland to say a few words. [ applause ] >> thank you. thank you, mr. president. this is the greatest honor of my life. other than lynn agreeing to marry me 28 years ago. it's also the greatest gift i've ever received, except, there's another caveat, the birth of our daughters, jessi and becky. as my parents taught me, by both words and deeds, a life of public service is as much a gift to the person who serves as it is to those he is serving. and for me there could be no higher public service than serving as a member of the united states supreme court. my fa

merrick garland is his name.ington. >> i have fulfilled my constitutional duty. knot now it's time for the senate to do theirs. presidents do not stop working in the final year of their term. neither should a

he nominated merrick garland because at least he sees in merrick garlanmerrick garland as really unassailablelifications, someone who shares a similar approach to the law. >> woodruff: what would you add to that, seth waxman? >> you know, i think merrick has a reputation for being a centrist, a prudent jurist, and i want to say that, you know, since we were in college together, merrick has had the deserved reputation for being a careful, deliberate, prudent person. i don't mean to say that he's timid. he makes decisions, and he makes them when they have to be made, and he makes difficult decisions, but he doesn't decide anything. he doesn't decide things-- with the exception of his decision to marry lynn, he doesn't decide things on emotioned. >> woodruff: which he mentioned today. >> and he doesn't make decisions based on the received wisdom of other people. he scnt say, "all these people they respect think this so i should think that." you know, merrick goes back to first principle when deciding things like which ski run to take when we're skiing together. he is a careful, prudent person, a

mitch mcconnell says he's spoken by fun to president obama's nominee merrick garland, chief judge for. court of appeals here in washington. mcconnell says he told garland the senate will not take action on his nomination. and there's breaking terror news tonight. police in paris arresting four people suspected of plotting an attack. three men and one woman. they are in custody one day after a deadly terror raid in brussels. one terror suspect was killed in that operation. two others escaped. we're covering all of that. much more this hour with our guests, including republican congressman jason chaffetz, correspondents and expert analysts are also standing by. let's begin with the republican race for the white house and a new political landscape tonight after the latest primaries. cnn's phil mattingly has all the late breaking developments. it's down to three republican candidates tonight. >> reporter: three republican candidates, wolf. all three believe they are the man that the party should rally behind. but only one front-runner. and that front-runner is setting the terms for debate

senator harry reid, he is with the nominee for the supreme court, merrick garland. let's take a listen, if we can hear what they're saying. it may be a photo op. neither appears to be speaking. merrick garland going on to capitol hill today in spite of getting that call from mitch mcconnell which said we're not going to consider you. so he has been meeting throughout this afternoon, as he goes into the room. they're plotting strategy, the white house has down outreach, putting their plans together. we'll talk about that coming up. let me go back to robert costa and talk about somebody else at that meeting. congressman trent franks of arizona. you talked about that, and i want to read a part of the statement that he just issued. i have been asked on many occasions what i would do if the race comes down to one-on-one contest between mr. trump and mrs. clinton. i have responded as a conservative i cannot trust mr. trump to do the right thing. however i can trust mrs. clinton to do exactly the wrong thing. consequencely in that circumstance i would vote for donald trump

want to play a little bit of orin hatch about merrick garland. this is 1997. >> i support the nomination of mr. garland and i encourage my colleagues to do the same. to my knowledge, no one, absolutely no one, disputes the following -- merrick garland is highly qualified to sit on the d.c. circuit. his intelligence and his scholarship cannot be questioned. >> that, of course, those kinds of things will be replayed, the biden rule brian williams was speaking of it earlier with pete williams. the biden speech which was contradicted, of course, by the judiciary chairman at the time, strom thurman, we should be confirming and they went on to do it. >> it's nothing personal. it's just business. the business right now is they move forward and get the business done in the senate and put this aside. maybe they might get to it later, my senses is they won't. >> this is a list of the current republican senators who voted to confirm judge garland back in 1997. oh, mitch mcconnell, chuck grassley, richard shelby, there are actually seven of them. >> you'll se

sources tell cbs news the president's choice is federal judge merrick garland. a who died last month. >> garland is the chief judge on the u.s. court of appeals for the district of columbia, the second highest court in the land. it produced three of the current supreme court justices. he was a justice department official during the clinton administration before appointed to the appeals court 19 years ago. >> this nomination is sure to be one of the most controversial in recent years and a good chance it will never even come to a vote. margaret brennan is at the white house now. >> the president is trying to make it as hard as he can for congress to refuse merrick garland. he has received significant support from republicans in the past, and the white house points out he has more federal judicial experience than any supreme court nominee in history. it is worth noting back in 1997 he was opposed by senate majority leader mitch mcconnell and current chair of the judiciary committee, chuck grassley. that could be a problem. but the white house points out at least se

here's what senator hatch said of merrick garland and i quote, i know merrick garland very well. he'll be very well -supported b all sides and the president knows that. he said a lot more complementary things. republicans are slamming the door on a good man they once embraced. simply why? because president obama nominated him. that's how they've treated him over his entire presidency. they've done it for going on 7 1/2 years. it didn't matter where these ideas came from. it didn't even matter if they came from republicans. republican leaders repeated that big lie over and over in many different ways. they said, whatever president obama proposes, even if it's a republican idea, it cannot help you. and will hurt you. look at the affordable care act. in 2009, 50 million americans were suffering without health insurance. the centerpiece of reform is the individual mandate. where did that come from? from the conservative heritage foundation. but as soon as president obama proposed the individual mandate, it suddenly became socialism in their eyes. but it's not just the affordable care

for 18 years, and before that, a top federal prosecutor. >> associate deputy attorney general merrick garland. >> reporter: garland was there in oklahoma city in 1995, as the white house, leading the prosecution of timothy mcveigh, a death penalty case. he carried the names of the victims with him everywhere he went while prosecuting that >> we promised that we would find the perpetrators, that we would bring them to justice, and that we would do it in a way that honored the constitution. >> reporter: he also led the prosecution of the unabomber. as a judge, garland is known as a moderate on the appeals court though he would tip the balance of the supreme court by replacing staunch conservative antonin scalia. in choosing merrick garland as his nominee, the president has selected someone who in any normal time with his endorsements from both sides of the aisle and his record would be easily confirmable. but this is not a normal political time. terry moran, abc news, the supreme court. >> it didn't take long for the political backlash against the nomination to start. senate republicans have sa

it's very difficult to label merrick garland.he is certainly not a fulbright full throated thurgood marshall. by the same token he has an , outstanding record, intellect, intellect and has , garnered praise from a broad swath of the american people. i think it will be difficult on the merit for republicans and their counterparts in the advocacy groups to really challenge him given the fact so many ultraconservative lawyers interest groups have praised his , work on the d.c. circuit. >> if a democrat wins the white house in november, could that whether it is hillary clinton or bernie sanders, should that person renominate merrick garland or to someone more progressive? ms. aron: i am not going there. [laughter] i think merrick garland is really a stellar nominee. i think he should be confirmed. i think he will be a wonderful addition to the supreme court. i think he should be confirmed this year and then with the upcoming vacancies, which we assume will occur, after all, three of the justices will be in their 80's by 2018, which m

on a president and withhold its consent. >> reporter: but democrats aren't backing down. >> if merrick garland can't get bipartisan support, nobody can. >> reporter: for garland, this day is especially poignant, having been passed over twice before for a seat on the high court. >> mr. president, it's a great privilege to be nominated by a fellow chicagoan. i am grateful beyond words for the honor you have bestowed upon me. >> reporter: it's unusual for a president to nominate someone in their 60s to the high court, but for garland this was seen as his last shot and perhaps he has less to lose compared to a younger nominee. also part of the calculation, jake, could be that it's an easier pill for republicans to swallow having someone older rather than someone younger, who of course would serve on the high court for a longer time. jake. >> pamela brown, thank you so much. joining me now from the white house is valerie jarrett, senior advisor to president obama. valerie, thanks so much for being here. good to see you again. >> my pleasure, jake. good afternoon to you. >> so republicans say they'r