President Barack Obama has announced he is nominating veteran appeals court judge Merrick Garland to be the next US Supreme Court Justice.
The Supreme Court vacancy follows the death of Justice Antonin Scalia last month at the age of 79.
Judge Garland, 63, is the chief judge of the Washington appeals court and a former prosecutor.
The Republican majority in the Senate has said it will block a vote on any Supreme Court nominee from Mr Obama.
Republicans have called on Mr Obama to leave the nomination to his successor, who will be elected in November.
The death of Scalia, a staunch conservative, left the nine-member Supreme Court evenly divided between conservatives and liberals.
Announcing the nomination in the White House Rose Garden, President Obama said Merrick Garland enjoyed respect from Democrats and Republicans alike.
He praised Mr Garland's decency, integrity and even-handedness during his long career in public service, and described him as an exemplary judge.
He also said Mr Garland was prepared to serve on the court immediately.
Merrick Garland
was appointed by Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1997, winning
confirmation in a 76-23 Senate vote, and served in the Justice
Department during the Clinton administration prior to that.
One White House official quoted by Reuters news agency said: "No-one is better suited to immediately serve on the Supreme Court."
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