During his monthly Ask The Governor appearance on Friday, Governor Charlie Baker deviated from many of his Republican peers and told Boston Public Radio that Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland should get confirmation hearings, and a straightforward vote. “Under the constitution, the president nominates and the Senate advises,” Baker said. “To quote [New England Patriots Coach] Bill Belichick, people should do their jobs. The president did his job, the Senate should do theirs.”
After President Obama nominated Garland, a centrist appellate judge of the country’s second-most powerful court, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and several Republican senators vowed not to consider the nominee. Opponents of Obama’s choice refuse Garland confirmation hearings or a vote, until the next president takes office.
To quote Bill Belichick, people should do their jobs. The president did his job, the Senate should do theirs.
“There should be [a hearing],” Baker said. “I said from the minute that Justice Scalia passed away that the president has a constitutional obligation. I really think the president did exactly what he is supposed to do.”
The governor made reference to a clip of then-Senator Joe Biden urging President George H. W. Bush not to nominate a Supreme Court Justice during the 1992 election, posted by C-SPAN. In the clip, Biden said, “the Senate Judiciary Committee should seriously consider not scheduling confirmation hearings on the nomination until after the political campaign season is over,” urging Bush not to name a nominee.
“Anybody who thinks that this is all about some constitutional principle, on either side, is kidding themselves,” Baker said. “This is 100 percent politics, and it’s the sort of thing, frankly, that makes a lot of regular people very unhappy with the play and the performance of their government.”
To hear more from Ask The Governor, click on the audio link above.
