On February 13, 2016, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died — 269 days before the presidential election. President Barack Obama had nearly 11 months left in his term. He nominated Merrick Garland, the widely respected chief judge of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Garland was a moderate — Republican Senator Orrin Hatch had previously said Obama could "easily name" him and that he'd be "a consensus nominee."
Within hours of Scalia's death being announced, before any nominee was named, McConnell declared: "The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president."
He refused to hold a hearing. He refused to hold a vote. Not a single Republican senator would even meet with Garland. The seat sat vacant for 422 days — the longest Supreme Court vacancy in American history.
How It Harmed Americans:
McConnell broke 200+ years of Senate precedent. No Supreme Court nominee had ever been denied both a hearing and a vote under these circumstances. The Court operated with only eight justices for over a year, resulting in multiple 4–4 deadlocks that left important legal questions unresolved, including a major immigration case (United States v. Texas) that directly affected millions.
The Garland blockade also established a new destructive norm: that the Supreme Court can be treated as a purely partisan prize rather than a co-equal branch of government. It was a raw power play with no constitutional justification, and it worked.
The seat was ultimately filled by Neil Gorsuch — one of the three justices who would later vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Reference List:
Merrick Garland Supreme Court nomination, 2016 (no Senate number assigned)
Congressional Research Service, "Supreme Court Nominations, 1789–2020: Actions by the Senate, the Judiciary Committee, and the President"
Senate Judiciary Committee, timeline of Garland nomination
Remarks of Senator McConnell on the floor of the U.S. Senate (February 13, 2016 and subsequent)