Liberals Confident Garland Nomination Will Move in November

In November, after the U.S. presidential election, Senate Republicans will cave and finally move ahead with nomination hearings to confirm Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. Or at least that’s what many liberal groups have started to think, given that Hillary Clinton is leading Donald Trump in many national polls. “I certainly think that if the polls continue to show that vulnerable Republicans are experiencing backlash, there will be greater momentum to give Garland a hearing during the lame duck,” Nan Aron, president of the Alliance for Justice, told The Hill. The thinking is that Republicans will acquiesce to the fairly moderate Garland in lieu of waiting to see Clinton’s pick, who may very well be far more liberal. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said the leadership would remain firm: “[T]he leader has been clear: the next president will make the nomination for this vacancy.”