On Wednesday, the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee did their job, holding a forum in which they heard testimony from friends and colleagues of Judge Merrick Garland, President Obama's nominee to the vacant Supreme Court seat. It was a "forum" rather than a "hearing" because the Republicans who control the committee—led by Chuck Grassley—refuse to have actual hearings. This is almost certainly as close to a hearing Garland is going to get.
Public polling suggests many voters back the Democratic position, but that fact that hasn't budged Republicans from their dug-in opposition. And the Democrats' break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option—running through procedural hoops to force a vote on Garland's nomination—remains on the table, but comes with its own potential risks.
"We're determined to be endlessly ingenious," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who serves on the Judiciary Committee.
The prospects for movement on the nomination are fading because of Mitch McConnell's recalcitrance—even though it likely means Republicans will lose control of the Senate—and the calendar. Of course, if it were a priority for Republicans, time would be made for Garland, but time is running increasingly short in a Republican Senate that is not celebrated for its work ethic. That's one of the things a proactive group of House Democrats will be trying to highlight.
Six of them plan to introduce a House bill Wednesday aimed at pressuring Republicans in both houses on the Supreme Court issue. The "Senate's Court Obligations Trump Unconstitutional Stalling," or SCOTUS, resolution would force Congress to remain in session through the summer recess — and hence the national party conventions — if the Senate has not held hearings on a pending Supreme Court nomination by July 19. […]
"We already have one dysfunctional branch of government right now, and I'm not going to sit idly by and watch the Senate try to create a second dysfunctional branch by hobbling the Supreme Court," said Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-Conn.), the bill's lead author and a former appellate lawyer. "My hope this bill will help raise not just public awareness, but really cause my colleagues in the Senate to think about our sworn duty to uphold the Constitution."
She's joined by four Democratic Senate hopefuls: Reps. Ann Kirkpatrick of Arizona, Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Patrick Murphy of Florida, and Maryland’s Chris Van Hollen, who are cosponsoring the effort. Of course, it's never even going to reach Paul Ryan's House floor. But what it does do is bring the fight to the House and broaden this battle to the whole of the Republican-led Congress. It reinforces the narrative that Republicans in both the House and the Senate aren't just failing to do their job, they're actively refusing to do it.
Will it end up in hearings for Garland? Almost certainly not. Will it help elect Democrats to Congress. Almost certainly so.
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