The newly chosen Illinois Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, Tammy Duckworth, says she backs President Barack Obama's choice for the U.S. Supreme Court. She's calling on her opponent to do the same.
The U.S. Senate's Republican leader says he'll block Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.
But Rep. Duckworth says Garland has "impeccable credentials."
Duckworth is campaigning to take Republican Mark Kirk's Senate seat from him.
Kirk has said he won't let politics sway his decision on whether to confirm Obama's choice for the Supreme Court. Duckworth says Kirk should press his Senate colleagues to hold a vote.
"That's very different than him calling on his leadership, the man he voted for to put in the leadership of the Senate, to say 'Let's hold hearings and let's do it,” Duckworth said.
Republican members of Congress say it's best to wait and let the next president pick a replacement for the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
