President Obama will nominate Merrick Garland as the new Supreme Court Justice Wednesday morning, our CNN network reports.
This announcement is expected to continue the fight from Senate Republicans who have vowed to block any replacement for the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
Merrick Garland, the chief judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, has been considered for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court in the past.
Garland, 63, became chief judge on February 12, 2013. He joined the court in 1997 after being nominated by former President Bill Clinton. Garland is a graduate of Harvard and Harvard Law School. As a Justice Department lawyer he supervised the investigations in the Unabomber case as well as the Oklahoma City bombing.
Senate Republicans do not plan to vet or have hearings on the nominee, and say the next President should be able to choose Scalia’s replacement. Obama and Democrats argue that with 10 months left in his term, there is plenty of time for the Senate to take up and confirm a new justice.
Obama will formally unveil his pick at 11 a.m. ET in the White House Rose Garden.
By: Fernanda Perez
