 Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley did not schedule a hearing for the nominee, leaving Garland's nomination to expire on January 3, 2017.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell invoked the so-called "Biden Rule" (of 1992) to justify the Senate's refusal to consider the nomination of Merrick Garland in a general election year.Trump formally transmitted his nomination to the Senate on February 1, 2017.