Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet issued the following statement on the President's nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court:

"Judge Garland has an excellent reputation and is eminently qualified. I worked for and with him at the Justice Department and have a firsthand appreciation for his extraordinary legal skill and respect for the law.

"The President has fulfilled his constitutional obligation by selecting a nominee to fill the vacancy left by Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. Now, it is the Senate's constitutional responsibility to thoroughly vet Judge Garland through meetings, hearings, and a vote to confirm or deny his nomination. It is what Presidents and the Senate have done throughout our history.

"This is not the time to play politics to satisfy our political bases. The Senate should do its job. How we manage our constitutional duty to provide serious consideration and deliberation to a rare appointment to the nation's highest judicial office will determine whether we deserve the respect of Americans who rightly expect us to exhibit dignity, mutual respect, and wisdom on their behalf."

Following law school, Judge Garland clerked for Judge Henry Friendly on the Second Circuit and then Supreme Court Justice William Brennan. He previously served under both Republicans and Democrats at the Justice Department as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia and as an aide to the Attorney General. His confirmation to the D.C. Circuit Court received bipartisan support in the Senate.

As the Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General, Garland supervised the prosecution of the Oklahoma City bombing case, which took place in Denver. He also supervised the case against the Unabomber.