Senate Democrats have enough votes to filibuster the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court, increasing the odds that majority Republicans will deploy the so-called “nuclear option” to get him confirmed.
Several senators announced their opposition to Gorsuch on Monday ahead of a Senate Judiciary Committee vote. The new Gorsuch foes bring the number of Democrats willing to block his nomination to 40 – the number needed to prevent the Senate from ending debate and advancing to a final vote.
Among the latest to come out against Gorsuch were Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, as well as Sens. Patrick Leahy, of Vermont, and Mark Warner, of Virginia.
“Despite his impressive academic credentials, Judge Gorsuch’s record and evasive responses – even refusing to answer questions regarding his views of cases like Roe v. Wade and Citizens United – do not give me confidence that he possesses a judicial philosophy that will serve the American public well,” Warner said in a statement.
Republican leaders, however, have a way out – they can trigger what’s known as the nuclear option, by changing Senate precedent to advance to a final vote with the support of just 51 senators, as opposed to 60.
Doing so is considered a major change in the way the Senate operates, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle could take issue with the move.
But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has vowed to confirm Gorsuch one way or the other.
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Pure trash!!! These democrats should be locked up with the key buried under Fort Knox.
The Democrats used the nuclear option four years ago for all other federal judges, and announced they would use it when needed for Supreme Court justices. If anyone wants to preserve super-majorities for judicial confirmations, they are five years too late. The matter has been settled, and all that’s left is the formality of changing the Senate rules.