Supreme Court showdown nears
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats elevated their attacks against President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Wednesday, portraying him as an ally of the powerful and an enemy of the weak as a showdown loomed on the Senate floor. Republicans defended Judge Neil Gorsuch, accusing Democrats of trying to block him out of frustration over Mr. Trump’s election victory.
“Democrats would filibuster Ruth Bader Ginsburg if President Donald Trump nominated her,” said Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., naming one of the more liberal sitting justices.
Democrats — including Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., during a 15-and-a-half-hour overnight talk-a-thon — returned again and again to Mr. McConnell’s decision last year to deny consideration to then-President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.
Showdown votes loom Thursday, when 44 Democrats and independents intend to try to block Judge Gorsuch by denying Republicans the 60 votes needed to proceed to final passage. Mr. McConnell and Republicans intend to respond by unilaterally changing Senate rules to remove the 60-vote filibuster requirement for all Supreme Court nominees.
The pending developments prompted handwringing from senators on both sides of the aisle — several of whom failed to come up with a deal to stave off the so-called “nuclear option” — about the future of the Senate as a bipartisan and deliberative body.
Amid the Gorsuch developments, politicians had their plates full.
No vote scheduled
Republican leaders prepared Wednesday to send lawmakers home for a twoweek recess without voting on their health care bill, as prospects for a quick deal among party factions moved farther out of reach.
Obama aide targeted
Citing no evidence, Mr Trump on Wednesday accused his predecessor’s national security adviser, Susan Rice, of breaking the law when she asked government analysts to disclose the names of Trump associates documented in intelligence reports.
Blackwater founder
Blackwater founder Erik Prince conducted a secret meeting with a Russian close to Vladimir Putin for the purposes of setting up a backchannel line of communication between the Russian leader and Mr. Trump, U.S., Arab and European officials have claimed.