Obama warns GOP on blocking Supreme Court nominee, jokes about picking 'white guy' Garland

Obama talks about GOP opposition to SCOTUS nominee — (Image credit: CNN/YouTube)

President Obama returned to the University of Chicago Law School on Thursday to promote his nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Merrick Garland, in the face of Republican Senate refusal to even consider the candidate. "If you start getting into a situation in which the process of appointing judges is so broken, so partisan that an eminently qualified jurist cannot even get a hearing, then we are going to see the kinds of sharp partisan polarization that have come to characterize our electoral politics seeping entirely into the judicial system," Obama said in his speech. "Our democracy can't afford that."

In questions from students after the speech, Obama addressed a question about diversity, saying that "at no point did I say: 'Oh, you know what? I need a black lesbian from Skokie in that slot. Can you find me one?'... I mean, that's just not how I've approached it." Obama said that he has "transformed the federal courts from a diversity standpoint with a record that's been unmatched." But his method of promoting diversity is to broaden the pool of applicants, not fill quotas. Garland, he said? "Yeah, he's a white guy, but he's a really outstanding jurist. I'm sorry. I mean, you know, I think that's important."

Republicans on Thursday showed no significant sign of changing tack on the Garland nominee, or any Obama pick, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saying on the Senate floor that it was unacceptable to have a "far-left Supreme Court." Meanwhile, conservative groups were throwing around their own pick for Supreme Court nominee, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), which probably requires Ted Cruz winning in November.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.