WASHINGTON — Today, on a media conference call following his meeting with Judge Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) reiterated his call for Senate Republicans to do their job and allow confirmation hearings and an up-or-down vote on the nomination. Murphy has repeatedly called for a full and fair confirmation process. 

“I just wrapped up a meeting of just short of an hour with Judge Merrick Garland. I was very impressed by him, I was very impressed by our conversation. I can report to my Republican colleagues that he doesn’t bite, that there’s nothing to be afraid of, and that they should take a meeting with him. Further, they should schedule a hearing so that the entire country and the entire Congress can see what a qualified choice Merrick Garland is for the Supreme Court,” said Murphy. “Today certainly confirmed my belief that he’s a smart choice and would be a great Supreme Court Justice.”

“There’s just no justification for Republicans continuing to block this nomination. This is absolutely unprecedented – never before in the history of the United States has a Congress shown this level of disrespect to a president or to a nominee. I think that this has really dangerous precedential effects for the future,” added Murphy. “Republicans need to do their job. They need to call a Judiciary Committee hearing as soon as possible. And my meeting with Merrick Garland certainly confirmed to me that he will do very well in that hearing.”