The White House is trying to portray the Republican snub of Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland as an insult to President Barack Obama, in a bid to capitalize on the commander-in-chief's rising poll numbers,
Politico reports.
"Democrats will be motivated to both stand up for President Obama and also to capitalize on the obvious Republican vulnerabilities. There's no denying that Republicans are evincing some weakness," one person familiar with the administration's thinking told the political news website.
Garland, a moderate who has been nominated to replace the ultra-conservative Antonin Scalia, was initially pooh-poohed by Republican Senate lawmakers who said they would not meet with him or take a vote on Capitol Hill.
But in the past few weeks, the cracks in that cement-like declaration have started to show, with some senators agreeing to have private chats with Garland.
While a vote on Garland looks remote for now, Politico says the administration has "hopes of racking up wins in November that they can say are a mandate for putting Garland on the bench before Obama leaves office."
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