Related: C-SPAN video of Hatch’s remarks in 1997
After the vote, Hatch had stern words for his party’s “nay” voters, liberal judges and even for Garland himself should he prove less moderate than advertised. Hatch said then:
I don’t feel good about all those who voted against this nomination, but the fact of the matter is that there is some reason for their doing so. Republicans are fed up with these judges who disregard the role of judging once they get to the courts, after having told us and promised that they will abide by the role of judging. Now, I am upset—there is no question about that—because I think the finest nominee that I have seen from this administration is Merrick Garland, and I think he deserved better.
Hatch predicted then that Garland “will go on to distinction. Nobody will be more disappointed than I if he turns out to be an activist judge in the end. If he does, I think he will be one of the principal underminers in the Federal judiciary in the history of this country. But he told me he will not do that, and I trust that he will not.”
