The Republican leaders of the U.S. Senate continue to insist that the chamber will not act on President Barack Obama’s pick to fill a Supreme Court vacancy until the president elected in November makes a selection next year.
Not all in the GOP agree with this course of action, including U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. She has a meeting scheduled with Judge Merrick Garland this coming Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
“I’m very much looking forward to that meeting,” she says. “I’ve found that that those one-on-one exchanges are a good way for me to begin to assess a nominee’s intellect, integrity, experience, qualifications, fidelity to the Constitution and respect for the rule of law.”
Collins says she still thinks that hearings are needed. She says a thorough vetting of the nominee can’t be done in a one-hour meeting.
At least 13 Republican senators have said they’d be willing to meet with the federal judge.
