https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrick_Garland#Scalia_vacancy_and_2016_nomination
...In an unprecedented move, Senate Republicans (under Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell) refused to consider Garland's nomination, holding "no hearings, no votes, no action whatsoever" on the nomination.[82][83] The refusal was highly controversial, with some commentators saying the seat on the Court to which Garland was nominated was "stolen".[84][85][86] Over 170,000 people signed a White House petition asking President Obama to independently appoint Garland to the Supreme Court, arguing that the Senate has waived its advise and consent role.[87] On November 17, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras threw out a lawsuit against Senator McConnell seeking to compel a vote on the nomination, finding that the plaintiff, who had simply alleged he was a voter, had no standing to sue.[87]
Garland had more federal judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in history,[32] and was the oldest Supreme Court nominee since Lewis F. Powell, Jr. in 1971.[88] The American Bar Association (ABA) Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary unanimously rated Garland "well-qualified" to sit on the Supreme Court, the committee's highest rating.[89]
Garland's nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress after a period of 293 days.[90]
On January 31, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch to fill the Court vacancy.[91]...