DON: IT’S A
Gilly: No way Dems can stop Gorsuch
Democrats have no chance of stopping Neil Gorsuch from becoming the next Supreme Court justice, according to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
The liberal Democratic New York senator predicted the conservative justice would get approvedoved by the Senate, one way or another.her.
“Ultimately, I believe he willl be confirmed,” she said on NY1 Tuesday night.
“I hope we do vote him down.own. But make no mistake: If we do hold the line with 60 votes, Mitchitch McConnell will change the rulesules the next day,” she added.
“I do not have any hope thatt he won’t change the rules the minutee hehe doesn’t get his way. So it likely will be 51 votes, regardless, at any giveniven time that a nominee is blocked.”
She was referring to the so-calledalled “nuclear option” — lowering the threshold needed to approve Gor-Gorsuch (right) from 60 to 51 votes.s.
With that change in place, Re-Republicans could use their 52-votevote majority to push him through with-without any Democratic support.
McConnell has voiced public hesitation about changing the rules of the Senate.
But earlier this month, President Trump said at a White House event that he would supportp Gorsuch being confirmed with 51 votes if Democrats stage a filibuster in an effort to block him.
“If we end up with that gridlockm, I would say, ‘If you can, Mitch, go nuclear,’ ” Trump said.
“Because that would be an absolute shame if a man of this quality was put up to that neglect. I would say it’s up to Mitch, but I would say, ‘ Go for it.’ ” Gorsuch has been trying to win over Democratic senators in a series of one-on-one meetingsmee — and is getting high marks. “He did a very good jjob in the meeting with me,” Sen. Jon Testerter (D-Mont.), told Politico. “He presents himself very well. I mean, he is very professional. Very ssmooth.” At a sit-down with Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Gor such mentioned that one of his favorite past justices is Robert Jackson, who dissented in a landmark case that allowed for the internment of Japanese - Americans during World War II. “He obviously did his homework with me,” Cardin said. “He knew I would be favorably inclined to that type of discussion.”