The top Democrat in the Senate urged President Trump to nominate President Obama’s failed Supreme Court nominee Judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court as a way to unite the country.
President Trump called the Senate Minority Leader earlier this week, according to The Washington Post, to discuss the Supreme Court vacancy following Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s retirement. The call, though, lasted less than five minutes.
The New York Democrat reportedly warned Mr. Trump not to nominate a justice who would overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that granted women the right to an abortion.
The president is rumored to have three frontrunners for the vacant seat.
Those include: Judge Amy Coney Barrett of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the appeals court in D.C., and Judge Raymond Kethledge of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The confirmation battle, though, is believed to get contentious, as many court watchers say all three of the potential nominees will swing the balance of the court further to the right.
And many Democrats remain salty over the Republican majority refusing to give Judge Garland, who sits on the circuit court in the District of Columbia, a hearing or a vote ahead of the 2016 election.
During Justice Neil M. Gorsuch’s confirmation hearing, many Democratic lawmakers alleged the nominee was taking a stolen seat on the high court.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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