REPUBLICANS GO ‘ NUCLEAR’ FOR GORSUCH
Action moves nominee closer to confirmation for high court
Republicans voted Thursday to invoke the “nuclear option” to strip Democrats of their power to block Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch from being confirmed — a victory with far- reaching consequences that could forever change the way justices are approved and shatter the Senate’s bipartisan traditions.
The dramatic action, approved by a party line vote, cleared the way for the Republican majority to end the Democrats’ filibuster of Gorsuch’s nomination immediately afterward. Senators voted 55- 45 to end debate and advance Gorsuch’s nomination to a final up- or- down confirmation vote Friday.
Democratic Sens. Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Manchin of West Virginia joined the chamber’s 52 Republicans in voting to end debate. All three are moderates from swing states that President Trump won in last fall’s election.
Earlier in the day, those three lawmakers and Sen. Michael Bennet, DColo., joined Republicans in the first attempt to stop the Democratic filibuster.
The vote to approve the nuclear option changed the Senate filibuster rule for Supreme Court nominees, so only a simple majority of senators are needed to end debate and move to a final confirmation vote. Before that change, it took 60 votes — three- fifths of the 100- member chamber — to end debate.
The action came nearly 14 months after the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on Feb. 13, 2016.