Schumer privately asked Trump to nominate Merrick Garland to Supreme Court

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) privately urged President Trump in a phone conversation to nominate Merrick Garland, former President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee from 2016, to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.
A person familiar with the conversation said on Thursday that Schumer told Trump in a phone call that lasted less than five minutes on Tuesday that the move would help unify the country.
{mosads}The Democratic leader also warned the president against nominating a potential justice to the Supreme Court who would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, stating that such a move would be “cataclysmic” and damaging to Trump’s legacy, according to a person familiar with the call, which was first reported by The Washington Post.
The source added that the call between Schumer and the president “seemed more like a check the box call than meaningful consultation” because it came after Trump had already begun narrowing his short list and interviewing candidates.
Schumer previously wrote in an op-ed for The New York Times that a potential nominee’s position on abortion rights could likely be a deciding factor in their Senate nomination battle.
“The views of President Trump’s next court nominee on these issues could well determine whether the Senate approves or rejects them,” Schumer wrote.