Blumenthal Statement After Meeting with Chief Judge Merrick Garland

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after meeting with President Obama’s nominee to the United States Supreme Court, Chief Judge Merrick Garland.

“I have known Merrick Garland for many years, and I deeply admire him as an incredibly scholarly and smart jurist, a dedicated and effective prosecutor, and a decent and good man. I hope  the American people have an opportunity to see and hear Judge Garland as I did today, because there will be no question that he deserves a hearing and vote. Once the American people know Judge Garland, I believe they will conclude he is impeccably well qualified to be a justice on the United States Supreme Court.

“I regret that he and the judiciary have been dragged into the mud and muck of partisan politics. His treatment demeans our judiciary and the United States Supreme Court and endangers the rule of law. Judge Garland has dedicated his life to the rule of law and the effective and fair enforcement of law, and that is the kind of person we need on the Supreme Court. I will fight as long and hard as I can to make sure that Merrick Garland receives a hearing and a vote, and I believe he will be confirmed if he is given that opportunity."

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