Re president Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. Contrary to popular sentiment that the Senate is not doing its job, not doing what it is paid to do, I submit that the Senate, in its checking function, is very much doing what it is supposed to do. Article 2, clause 2, section 2 (Appointments Clause) of the Constitution requires the President to nominate a Supreme Court judge, and the Senate, with its advice and consent, to approve the nomination. In the Heritage Guide to the Constitution John McGinnis writes, on p. 271, “The Senate has independent authority in that it may constitutionally refuse to confirm a nominee for any reason.” Nor is a timeframe or deadline required to do so. Furthermore in Federalist 76 Alexander Hamilton says, of the Senate’s checking function, “the necessity of of their concurrence would have a powerful, though in general, a silent operation.” So clearly we will just have to wait, patiently, while the Senate does its job.