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President Obama announced his nomination to replace the late Antonin Scalia as Supreme Court Justice on Wednesday morning.
Merrick Garland, 63, the chief judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, has been selected by POTUS.
On Tuesday, Obama revealed in an email that he had made a nomination decision based on who he felt would best “possess an independent mind, unimpeachable credentials, and an unquestionable mastery of law.”
During the press conference announcement on Wednesday morning, President Obama said Garland’s qualifications make him “one of America’s sharpest legal minds.”
Obama went on to say that Garland is someone “who brings to his work a spirit of decency modesty, integrity, evenhandedness and excellence” and as a result “these qualities and his long commitment to public service have earned him the respect and admiration from leaders from both sides of the aisle.”
In humbly accepting the presidential nomination, Garland thanked POTUS for giving him the “the greatest honor of [his] life.”
“For me, their could be no higher public service than serving as a member of the Supreme Court,” he added.
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Garrick’s nomination will be challenged by Senate Republicans who believe the incoming president should name Scalia’s replacement despite President Obama’s constitutional obligation to name a successor during his time in office.