Democrats Hold the Senate—and the Ability to Appoint Federal Judges

Barack Obama appointed two justices to the United States Supreme Court, Elena Kagan and Sonya Sotomayor. But in some ways, it’s the justice he didn’t get confirmed who looms largest. When Justice Antonin Scalia unexpectedly died on a hunting trip at a Texas resort on February 13, 2016, Obama turned to the moderate D.C. Circuit Court Judge Merrick Garlan…