WASHINGTON – DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz issued the following statement on the President’s nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court:

“I applaud President Obama’s selection of Merrick Garland, an accomplished, independent jurist, as his choice of nominee for the Supreme Court. Mr. Garland has earned the support of Republicans and Democrats alike since 1997, with one senior Republican previously calling Mr. Garland a “consensus nominee” and vowing to help President Obama ensure him a seat on the Supreme Court. As a former Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Garland was a leader in prosecuting domestic terrorism. The grandson of immigrants who fled persecution, and an even handed jurist, he embodies the values that have made America great.

“I urge Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley to fulfill their constitutional duties, hold hearings, and quickly bring this nominee up for a vote – the exact same things they called for in 2008 when President Bush nominated judges that were then confirmed by a Democratic Senate.

“Both Republican leaders have said they don’t intend to do their jobs, and plan to block the nominating process, a blatantly partisan position to take. While it’s clear that this unprecedented obstructionism is just more pandering to party extremists, it’s an especially baffling strategy when poll after poll tells the same story: the majority of Americans disapprove of the GOP’s tactics by an overwhelming margin.

“The American people are right to disagree with this approach. By design, our founders created the Supreme Court to function above the sort of divisive rhetoric and partisan political nonsense that too often define Washington. Waiting for Donald Trump to make the next pick for the Supreme Court is an outrageous position to take and flies in the face of the Senate's constitutional duty to ‘advise and consent’.  They need to do their job.”