Two appellate judges are reportedly being vetted for a possible nomination to fill the Supreme Court seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia, The New York Times reported Friday.
Appellate judges Merrick Garland, 63, and Sri Srinivasa, 49, two judges who have received support from Republicans in the past, are undergoing FBI background checks, a person with knowledge about the vetting process told The Times.
Judge Srinivasa has served on the U.S. Court of Appeals since 2013, when he was confirmed on a 97-0 bipartisan vote in the U.S. Senate. He was also part of the legal team in 2013 that successfully urged the high court to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act, which restricted the definition of marriage to a union between one man and one woman.
Judge Garland was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1997 and became the chief judge in 2013.
Earlier this week, The Times also reported that federal appellate Judge Jane Kelly was being vetted for the Supreme Court seat.
Last month, the National Law Journal reported that the White House was also vetting Kentaji Brown Jackson, 45 a federal trial judge.
Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval was also being vetted for the position, but the Republican governor took himself out of consideration for the appointment last month.
Republicans in Congress have said the next Supreme Court justice should not be nominated until a new president is elected and have vowed not to approve any nominations put forward by President Obama.
After Scalia’s death, the court is now split between four conservative and four liberal justices.
• Kellan Howell can be reached at khowell@washingtontimes.com.
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