President Obama has begun talks with Supreme Court Justice candidates to replace Justice Antonin Scalia. Among those who are being considered are Chief Judge Merrick Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia; Judge Sri Srinivasan, of the same court; Judge Paul Watford, of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals based in San Francisco; Judge Jane Kelly, of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals based in St. Louis; and U.S. District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who serves in Washington, D.C. NPR reports that Garland, Srinivasan and Watford are on the short list for the vacancy.
The president is moving ahead with the nomination process despite Republican senators’ statements that they will not consider—or even meet with—an Obama appointee. They want the next president to make the nomination.