Cruz joins Republicans in opposing Garland pick

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz says he stands with his Republican colleagues in the Senate in opposing President Barack Obama’s pick for the Supreme Court.

The Republican presidential candidate says in a statement that Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland “is exactly the type of Supreme Court nominee you get when you make deals in Washington.”

Cruz says if Garland were confirmed, he would undermine Second Amendment gun rights, legalize late-term abortions and empower “overreaching bureaucratic agencies.”

Cruz has said he does not want the Senate to vote on any nominee until after the next president is sworn into office.

A number of Republican Senators have already said they will oppose Merrick’s nomination.

Republicans have set up a task force that will orchestrate attack ads, petitions and media outreach. On the other side, Obama allies are to run a Democratic effort targeting states where Republicans might feel political heat for opposing hearings.

If confirmed, Garland would be expected to align with the more liberal members, but he is not viewed as down-the-line liberal. Particularly on criminal defense and national security cases, he’s earned a reputation as centrist, and one of the few Democratic-appointed judges Republicans might have a fast-tracked to confirmation — under other circumstances.

In the current climate, Garland remains a tough sell. Republicans control the Senate, which must confirm any nominee, and GOP leaders want to leave the choice to the next president, denying Obama a chance to alter the ideological balance of the court before he leaves office next January. Republicans contend that a confirmation fight in an election year would be too politicized.

— AP