Sen. Lindsey Graham will meet with Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama’s pick to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Graham’s spokesman Kevin Bishop told CNN on Thursday.
The South Carolina senator would become the latest Republican to either meet with or agree to meet with Garland, though Graham is opposed to moving forward with any confirmation proceedings.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley said last month that “If I can meet with a dictator in Uganda, I can surely meet with a decent person in America,” regarding simply sitting down with Garland.
But Grassley has refused to schedule confirmation hearings for Obama’s pick, and Senate Republican leaders have stood firm in their promise that Garland would never receive a vote in the Senate, saying the next president should pick Scalia’s replacement.
More than a dozen Republican senators have agreed to meet with Garland, and Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois last month became the first Republican to call for confirmation hearings.