Obama first nominated Garland in 2016 to fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, however, announced the Senate would not consider an appointment until after the presidential election. Upon taking office, President Donald Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch to fill the seat.
“I think we should have been a whole heck of a lot harder on [Mitch McConnell],” Biden told Starting Line of the 2016 effort. Biden said when he would ask Republicans why they were blocking the nomination, they would respond, “I’m in a red state, if I go ahead and just call for a hearing, the Koch Brothers will drop five, 10 million dollars on my race.”
