Congressman Markwayne Mullin (OK-02) issued the following statement after President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland, the Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, as a nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court:
"Republicans and Democrats have historically agreed that the president should not select a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court in a presidential election year. In 1992, then-Senator Joe Biden urged President George H. W. Bush to follow the majority of presidents before him and delay naming a nominee until after the election. And in 2005, Senator Harry Reid affirmed that the Constitution does not require the Senate to vote on a president's Supreme Court nominee. The fact that these same people are now accusing Senate Republicans of refusing to uphold their Constitutional duty is hypocritical and shows exactly what is wrong with Washington.
"Congress should not let a president who is in the last year of his eight-year term choose the Supreme Court Justice who will strongly steer the direction of our nation for the next two decades, or even longer. This debate is not about any one nominee -- it is about making sure our government remains of the people, by the people, and for the people. President Obama should not rob the American people of their voice. I am confident that the Senate will exercise its authority and perform its Constitutional duty by choosing to not consider President's Obama's nominee."