Merrick Garland has received glowing praise from Senate Republicans — but it might not matter

Will praise translate to a vote for Merrick Garland? — (Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

President Obama nominated the moderate Judge Merrick B. Garland on Wednesday to fill the spot left vacant in the Supreme Court by Justice Antonin Scalia. But the road to confirmation is an uphill battle: Senate Republicans have sworn to reject any nominee picked by Obama — even though seven sitting GOP senators voted to confirm Garland for another post in the past.

"To my knowledge, no one, absolutely no one, disputes the following: Merrick B. Garland is highly qualified to sit on the D.C. Circuit. His intelligence and his scholarship cannot be questioned," current Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah had said on the Senate floor.

In 2010, Hatch also described Garland as a "consensus nominee" who would "get a lot of votes."

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However, there is more at stake than just a good nominee. Sen. Pat Roberts told CNN's Manu Raju that while he supported Garland in 1997, now "it's not about the person."

Obama has still appealed to the Senate to fulfill its duty. "I simply ask Republicans in the Senate to give Merrick Garland a fair hearing," the president said Wednesday.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.