Federal appeals court judge Merrick Brian Garland is President Obama's pick to fill the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

The president officially named Garland as a Supreme Court nominee as they stood before the media and a large gathering of attendees in the Rose Garden at the White House Wednesday.

Addressing the refusal by Republican leaders in the Senate to consider a Supreme Court nominee, Obama said that in Garland, he had chosen "a serious man and an exemplary judge."

He added that in discussions about Supreme Court vacancies — the current one, as well as earlier openings — "The one name that has come up repeatedly – from Republicans and Democrats alike – is Merrick Garland."

(NPR)