--- description: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says GOP will keep their word and block the confirmation of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. title: McConnell: Senate Will Not Act on Garland SCOTUS Nomination image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43a0f47826d5d292/69888b3e0a4a22f5409c8d6a/gettyimages-475638998.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Congress](/tag/congress/) ## Congress Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # McConnell: Senate Will Not Act on Garland Supreme Court Nomination by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 16, 2016 9:06 PM CUT  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) answers questions at the U.S. Capitol June 2, 2015 in Washington, DC. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) answers questions at the U.S. Capitol June 2, 2015 in Washington, DC.Win McNamee/Getty Images by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 16, 2016 9:06 PM CUT Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday that the Senate will not act on President Obama’s [Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland](http://time.com/4261526/merrick-garland-supreme-court-senate-3/ "undefined"). McConnell spoke with Garland earlier in the day, but [reiterated that Republicans would not confirm a nomination to the court](http://time.com/4225397/antonin-scalia-dead-senate-republicans-president-obama/ "undefined") until the next president assumes office, according to a statement from McConell’s office. “The Leader reiterated his position that the American people will have a voice in this vacancy and that the Senate will appropriately revisit the matter when it considers the qualifications of the person the next President nominates,” the statement reads. “And since the Senate will not be acting on this nomination, he would not be holding a perfunctory meeting, but he wished Judge Garland well.” The Supreme Court vacancy comes after [the death of Judge Antonin Scalia](http://time.com/4234849/scalia-obesity-diabetes-death/ "undefined"), a conservative stalwart who’s February death came during what will be a hotly contested general election for the President of the United States. Senate Republicans have vowed not to hold confirmation hearings for any Obama nominee. Garland’s selection, who currently serves as the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and is considered a moderate, is [widely viewed as a compromise](http://time.com/4260899/merrick-garland-supreme-court-nominee-president-obama/?xid=homepage "undefined") on the President’s part. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4261973/mcconnell-senate-gop-merrick-garland-supreme-court/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4261973/mcconnell-senate-gop-merrick-garland-supreme-court/"},"headline":"McConnell: Senate Will Not Act on Garland Supreme Court Nomination","datePublished":"2016-03-16T21:06:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:58:16.476Z","description":"The Senate leader says Republicans will still block any Obama Supreme Court nominee","url":"https://time.com/4261973/mcconnell-senate-gop-merrick-garland-supreme-court/","keywords":["Congress","Supreme Court","Senate","White House","Mitch McConnell","President Obama"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43a0f47826d5d292/69888b3e0a4a22f5409c8d6a/gettyimages-475638998.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel White","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-white/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43a0f47826d5d292/69888b3e0a4a22f5409c8d6a/gettyimages-475638998.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Senate Lawmakers Address The Media After Their Weekly Policy Luncheons","caption":"Senate Lawmakers Address The Media After Their Weekly Policy Luncheons","creditText":"Win McNamee/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/congress/","name":"Congress"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4261973/mcconnell-senate-gop-merrick-garland-supreme-court/","name":"McConnell: Senate Will Not Act on Garland Supreme Court Nomination"}}]}] ```