Judge Merrick B. Garland got teary-eyed as he accepted President Obama's Supreme Court nomination in a Rose Garden speech on Wednesday, calling the opportunity a "great privilege" for which he is "grateful beyond words."
"This is the greatest honor of my life, other than Lynn agreeing to marry me 28 years ago," Garland said as he choked back tears. "I know my mother is watching this on television and crying her eyes out," he added.
Garland, 63, is the chief judge of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and a highly respected moderate judge. Obama is hopeful this pick will satisfy Republicans, who have vowed to block any Obama nominee in favor of letting the next president fill the vacancy left by the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
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