Jon Kyl: “Certainly, I must begin by saying that I believe Mr. Garland is well qualified for the court of appeals. He earned…”

“Certainly, I must begin by saying that I believe Mr. Garland is well qualified for the court of appeals. He earned degrees from Harvard College and Harvard Law School and clerked for Judge Friendly on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and for Justice Brennan on the Supreme Court and, since 1993, he has worked for the Department of Justice. So there is no question, he is qualified to serve on the court. Like my colleague from Alabama, my colleague from Iowa, and others, I believe that the 12th seat on this circuit does not need to be filled and am quite skeptical that the 11th seat, the seat to which Mr. Garland has been nominated, needs to be filled either. The case against filling the 12th seat is very compelling, and it also makes me question the need to fill the 11th seat.”