WASHINGTON ¨C Several intriguing scenarios could unfold after Tuesday¡¯s U.S. election to break the deadlock over filling a Supreme Court vacancy that has provoked a bitter nine-month standoff between President Barack Obama and Senate Republicans.
Obama nominated U.S. appeals court Judge Merrick Garland on March 16 to replace long-serving conservative justice Antonin Scalia, who died on Feb. 13. The Republican-led Senate, in a move with little precedent, has refused to consider the nomination, saying the winner of the presidential election should make the pick.
If Republican Donald Trump wins, Garland¡¯s nomination would be dead. Trump has already put forth a list of conservative jurists as potential nominees.
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