Obama To Nominate Merrick Garland To The Supreme Court

Settling for a centrist candidate with decades of judicial experience, President Barack Obama will nominate Merrick Garland, a federal appeals judge in Washington, D.C., to the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, according to The Associated Press and congressional sources. If confirmed, Garland, 63, wouldn't bring diversity to the court as much a lengthy résumé in public service, including stints in the Department of Justice and on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, where he has served since 1997 and is now the chief judge. Republicans are planning a ground game, too, forming their own "SCOTUS task force" to combat whatever the White House and its allies may have up their sleeves.