Pennsylvania’s Casey meets with Supreme Court nominee Garland

Despite Republican leaders’ vow to not give Judge Merrick Garland a Supreme Court nomination hearing, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., met with the nominee for nearly an hour in his office on Tuesday, saying he hopes GOP senators change their mind – even though his own is not made up on whether he’d vote for Garland.

“I haven’t made a firm decision about how I would vote if that opportunity arises,” Casey told reporters after the meeting. “But this is someone who has a substantial degree of experience.”

Garland is chief judge on the District of Columbia’s Court of Appeals. He’s served on the appeals court bench for 19 years. Before that, he was a prosecutor.

Casey, too, is an attorney.

Pennsylvania’s other U.S. senator, Republican Pat Toomey, has joined the chorus of GOP voices saying there should be no Supreme Court nominee hearing until President Barack Obama has left office. Democratic strategists have leaped on the Supreme Court nominee battle to call Republican senators obstructionists.

In Toomey’s Pennsylvania Senate race, his Democratic challengers have blasted his position on Garland. On Monday morning, Toomey was met by protesters in State College as he entered a breakfast meeting with local business leaders.

Whether it makes a difference in Toomey or other Republicans’ re-election bids, Casey said he isn’t sure.

“I’ll let the political scientists do that analysis,” Casey said, adding that he hasn’t personally talked to Toomey about Garland nor asked him to change his mind.

“In the Senate, I think it’s our obligation to cast a vote when a nominee is presented or nominated,” Casey said, declining to offer many specifics about what he and Garland discussed on Tuesday.

Casey said they discussed Garland’s experience during the 1995 investigation into the Oklahoma City bombing. The meeting was positive, Casey said, mentioning he has high regard for Garland’s extensive legal career and time as a judge. Washington, D.C.,’s appellate court, in particular, he said, is solid preparation for the nation’s highest court.

To decide whether he would vote for Garland, if given the chance, Casey said he still has “some work to do.” That includes, he said, reviewing more cases in which Garland rendered decisions and trying to gauge his “judicial philosophy.”

This story was originally published March 22, 2016 at 7:45 PM with the headline "Pennsylvania’s Casey meets with Supreme Court nominee Garland."