Graham will meet

Lindsey Graham will meet with Garland

By Seung Min Kim

One Senate Republican who had decided not to meet with Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland is changing his mind.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a member of the Judiciary Committee, plans to meet with the Supreme Court nominee in the coming weeks, said Kevin Bishop, the senator’s spokesman. Bishop said he did not yet have a date for the meeting, which he characterized as a “courtesy” sit-down.

“Senator Graham remains opposed to moving forward with the Garland nomination,” Bishop said in an e-mail. “He continues to believe the next president should pick the next nominee for the Supreme Court.”

But the meeting itself is a reversal from what Graham said the day Garland was nominated, when he stated flatly that he would not meet with the nominee.

“Seems to be a nice fella,” Graham said of Garland on March 16, when he was nominated. “I wish him well.”

Graham’s meeting was first reported by CNN.