President Barack Obama is making a stronger push for Merrick Garland, his nominee for the Supreme Court seat vacated by the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia.
Speaking at the University of Chicago Law School where he taught for a time, the president said Garland deserves a hearing.
"He is as good a judge as we have in this country," Obama said, "so why can't he get a hearing -- get a vote?"
But Republicans are standing firm in their decision not to hold a hearing or vote on Garland.
Many have pointed to statements by several top Democrats over the past quarter of a century saying that a Supreme Court nominee shouldn't be voted on in an election year, including Vice President Biden when he was in the Senate.
Democrats have been increasing the pressure on Senate Republicans and say the GOP will cave eventually.
But Republicans say that's just wishful thinking.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, called the president's statement that the Constitution requires the Senate to consider any nominee a "politically convenient fairy tale," USA Today reported.
McDonnell said filling the deciding seat "could impact our country for decades" and "could dramatically affect our most cherished Constitutional rights like those contained in the First and Second Amendments."
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