Senate Majority Leader Rules Out ‘Lame Duck’ Supreme Court Confirmation

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Sunday tried to shut down Beltway musings that President Obama’s latest pick for the Supreme Court could still find a way to be confirmed in the lame duck session if Hillary Clinton wins the election.

When asked whether he would completely rule out a “lame duck scenario” for Obama’s nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, McConnell told Chuck Todd on NBC’s “Meet the Press”: “We’re not going to be confirming a judge to the Supreme Court under this president.”

When pushed on the possibility that someone more liberal than Garland could be nominated in 2017 if Hillary Clinton wins the presidency, McConnell responded, “It’d be hard to be more liberal than Merrick Garland, but it’s my hope that she will not be making the appointment.”

Read more from our partners at NBC News