Merrick Garland, President Obama’s nominee to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, is scheduled to return to the bench next month.
Garland will begin hearing oral arguments again on Jan. 18, according to a schedule on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals website. Garland stopped hearing oral arguments but continued to do administrative work for the circuit court after Obama nominated Garland in March.
Garland’s return to the bench signals victory for Senate Republicans’ blockade of Obama’s Supreme Court nominee. President-elect Trump is expected to select his nominee to the high court next month and has previously said that he has narrowed his list of candidates down to “probably three or four” finalists.
