Merkley: Open SCOTUS Seat Stolen from Obama and Delivered to Trump as Part of a ‘Court-Packing Scheme’

EXCERPT:

BLITZER: "So you were one of the first to say you would vote against Judge Neil Gorsuch's confirmation. Why is that? The American Bar Association, for example, says he is highly qualified."
MERKLEY: "Well, because I'm not going to be part of a court packing scheme. This seat, for the first time in U.S. history, was stolen from one president and delivered to the next with the hope of packing the court to the far right. And with Gorsuch, we're talking to the very far right. If this effort to steal a seat succeeds, then forever more the temptation is going to be there to do the same. It puts a big cloud over any 5-4 decision and it puts a big cloud over the integrity of the court. In fact, if Neil Gorsuch had principle, he would have turned down this nomination on the basis that the person who should be nominated is Merrick Garland."