Michael Bennet: “I am privileged to be here with the Presiding Officer this evening. I thank my colleague from Arkansas for allowing me…”

“I am privileged to be here with the Presiding Officer this evening. I thank my colleague from Arkansas for allowing me to speak at this time. I rise to discuss the vacancy on the Supreme Court. Nearly 200 days have passed since the President nominated Judge Merrick Garland to fill the Supreme Court vacancy. Yet the majority still refuses to hold a hearing on his record or a vote on his nomination. As a result, Judge Garland is now the longest pending nominee in the Nation's history. Next week, the Supreme Court will reconvene for a new term with one seat still vacant. I remember reading Justice Scalia's opinion in a case where he described an eight-member Court as a diminished Court. That was the language he used. We now have a Supreme Court that, not just in one term but in two terms, has been diminished by the inability of this Senate to confirm a nominee. There is no doubt that anybody with any sense can see this has been an unconventional period in American politics, to say the least, but in many cases, the majority's refusal to even consider Judge Garland's nomination is the most egregious example of Washington dysfunction I have seen. Within an hour of Justice Scalia's death, the majority leader unilaterally decided the Senate would not consider the President's nominee, even though 342 days remained in the President's term.…”