SCOTUS Nominee Breaks Record for Longest Confirmation Wait

By Kenrya Rankin Jul 19, 2016

It has been 125 days since President Barack Obama introduced the world to Merrick Garland, his nominee to replace Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. He is now poised to break the record for the longest time a nominee has waited for confirmation.

Reuters reports that it took the Senate 125 days to confirm Justice Louis Brandeis back on June 1, 2016. With Congress in recess until September 6, Garland will break that record tomorow (July 20), when his wait hits 126 days.

Beginning on February 13, the day Scalia died from a heart attack, Republicans leaders have said they they will not hold hearings for anyone put forward by President Obama, arguing that the newly elected president should be the one to choose the new justice. During his speech announcing Garland as his nominee, Obama said that refusing to consider the candidate amounts to “an abdication of the Senate’s Constitutional duty.” As justices sit on the Court indefinitely, the choice could have a major impact on the laws that impact people of color, from reproductive rights to affirmative action.

(H/t The Huffington Post)