A majority of Americans want the Senate to confirm nominee Merrick Garland as a Supreme Court justice, according to a poll released Friday.
Fifty-two percent back the Senate voting for the current chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in the CNN/ORC survey. Another 33 percent hope the Senate does not confirm Garland, while 15 percent had no opinion.
Sixty-four percent say the Senate should hold hearings on Gardland, while 31 percent say it should not and 5 percent had no opinion.
{mosads}Pollsters also said that most Americans back President Obama’s role in picking a new Supreme Court justice.
Fifty-seven percent say Obama should make the next appointment to the nation’s highest court, versus 40 percent who say it should fall to his successor. Another 2 percent had no opinion, and 1 percent said that it depends on who becomes the nation’s next chief executive after Obama.
Over half of respondents believe Garland is properly balanced ideologically for the Supreme Court, CNN reported.
Fifty-six percent describe him as “about right,” compared with 25 percent who say “too liberal” and 6 percent who say “too conservative” instead. Thirteen percent have no opinion.
Obama nominated Garland for the Supreme Court earlier this month after Justice Antonin Scalia’s sudden death in mid-February.
The Senate Judiciary Committee’s GOP members have vowed they will not hold confirmation hearings for Garland, arguing that the American people should have a say in the process in November’s presidential election.
CNN/ORC conducted its poll of 1,001 adult Americans via telephone interviews from March 17 to 20. It has a 3 percent margin of error.