“The American people could have said ‘That’s unacceptable, ‘ and therefore elect Democrats to control the White House and the Senate, they could have done that, and we would have had to live with that effect”, Toomey said. He was previously a deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department and is the youngest Supreme Court nominee in 25 years.
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In all, 35 Democrats have said so far that they definitely will oppose Gorsuch.
Although Republicans hold a majority in the Senate, Democrats could filibuster Gorsuch if they can muster 41 votes against the appeals court judge.
They added he is still getting feedback from Montanans and reviewing Judge Gorsuch’s qualification.
That would drop the threshold for approving Supreme Court justices from 60 to 51 votes.
“Gorsuch has … ruled against women’s rights and LGBTQ rights”.
McCaskill’s statement on Friday stressed Gorsuch’s opinions show he “always puts the little guy under the boot of corporations”. The Senate’s Republicans would need eight Democrats to vote with them in order to prevent the filibuster, a parliamentary maneuver that would make it hard for Gorsuch’s nomination to get an up or down vote. If confirmed, he would take the seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia. “The only question is how, it’s not even when”. Merkely argued that there is simply no need to uphold an illusion of norms when Republicans have already broken precedence to block Obama’s nomination and will likely invoke the nuclear option on the next nominee from Trump or any other Republican president. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, said they would join Republicans and back the nominee.
“He has a record as a balanced, meticulous and well-respected jurist who understands the rule of law”. “That has happened, and had Hillary Clinton succeeded in winning, I can assure you that I would have allowed her nominee an up-or-down vote”.
Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) – “I believe Judge Gorsuch will be confirmed and if the Democrats attempt to filibuster his nomination, they will not be successful”. There isn’t a flawless judge. But Sen. John McCain is working to broker a rather suspect deal that would preserve the minority party’s ability to block Supreme Court nominees-just not this time around.
Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota said Thursday they would vote in favor of putting Judge Neil Gorsuch on the U.S. Supreme Court, becoming the first Democrats to support President Donald Trump’s nominee to fill the vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia a year ago. I am not comfortable with either choice.
An audio recording of McCaskill’s comments to a group of Democratic donors that surfaced Thursday revealed she was anxious blocking Gorsuch could backfire on the party.
Ayotte, speaking on a conference call, said she has many positive relationships among Democratic senators, but that the atmosphere in Washington may simply be too divisive to win over enough Democrats to overcome a filibuster.
Gorsuch also signaled during those hearings that he would have at least an open mind toward cameras in the High Court, though he said it was something he had not thought a lot about. That includes cases on whether churches can be excluded from secular state-funded aid programs, a death penalty sentence, and debt collection.
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The Senate Judiciary Committee recently held its confirmation hearings on Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to serve as our nation’s next Supreme Court justice.
