The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gorsuch vote heading for a Senate showdown
Dems have votes to block him, but GOP has one last play.
WASHINGTON — The heated battle over President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee moved front and center Wednesday in the Senate, where one Democrat concluded a marathon speech against Judge Neil Gorsuch and others praised or criticized him.
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., spoke against Gorsuch for about 15 hours Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, taking aim at both the judge and Trump. He also lambasted Republicans for not moving ahead with President Barack Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to the court last year.
“To proceed to fill this stolen seat will damage the court for decades to come,” he said.
Republicans defended Gorsuch and accused the Democrats of caving to pressure from their party’s liberal base.
“Democrats are bowing to hard-left special interests that can’t get over the results of the election and thus are demanding complete Democratic opposition to everything this president touches,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said, speaking on the floor.
The competing speeches came as the Senate moved closer to tense votes that will begin today and are expected to conclude Friday with a major change to Senate rules that will clear the way for Gorsuch’s confirmation.
Democrats have enough votes to block Gorsuch’s nomination from proceeding to a final vote. But GOP leaders are expected to use what is known on Capitol Hill as the “nuclear option”: eliminating the ability of the minority party to require 60 votes to bring Supreme Court nominations to the floor and thereby allowing Gorsuch to be confirmed by a simple majority. Senate Republicans hold a 52-48 advantage over the Democratic caucus.
The partisan standoff underscores the sharp polarization that has seized Congress less than three months into Trump’s presidency. Senate Democrats angered by Trump’s policies — and McConnell’s refusal to consider Garland — have united against Gorsuch, clinching enough votes to block him earlier this week.
It also heralds a potentially more contentious climate in the Senate, which traditionally has allowed the minority party to exert a powerful voice in debate over key nominations and legislation — unlike in the House.
Senate Democrats changed the rules in 2013 to permit executive-branch nominees including federal judges to be approved by a simple majority, with the critical exception of Supreme Court selections. Doing away with the 60-vote barrier would eliminate the minority party’s historic influence over who the president nominates to the high court and significantly decrease its ability to help exercise a check on the executive branch.
McConnell has said that while he is prepared to deploy the nuclear option to overcome Democratic resistance to Gorsuch, he will not to end the 60-vote threshold on broader legislation while he is majority leader.
GOP leaders are expected to use the ‘nuclear option’ to confirm Gorsuch.