American Government - Politics plays an immense role in the nomination

American Government

Politics plays an immense role in the nomination process. Consider the nomination of Merrick Garland by Barack Obama in 2016 to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia (an icon of conservative ideology). However, at that time Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, declared any appointment by the sitting president to be null and void. He said that the next Supreme Court justice should be chosen by the next president — to be elected later that year.

Based on this information, analyze the process by which U.S. judges are nominated and confirmed. Does this seem like a fair process? What extent does it have on the political lean of the Court, and therefore, on United States law (specifically civil rights and civil liberties