Judge-ment day
Senate rivals Mitch McConnell and Charles Schumer are headed for a high-stakes staring contest Monday when the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch proceeds toward a Senate vote.
President Trump’s legislative agenda — not just a key court seat — could hinge on who blinks first.
“The Republicans are playing a game of unnecessary and dangerous brinksmanship,” Schumer complained Friday in the Senate.
Schumer, the Democratic minority leader, needs 41 Senate votes to filibuster Gorsuch’s nomination. A filibuster would prevent an up-ordown vote on whether Gorsuch is appointed to the court.
A filibuster blocking Gorsuch’s nomination could be ended only by a cloture vote, which requires a 60-vote majority in the Senate.
Schumer currently has 36 votes in his corner — not yet enough to maintain a filibuster.
But even if Schumer and the Democrats win the filibuster battle, they could still lose the war.
That’s because Democratic success in a filibuster likely would compel Republican Majority Leader McConnell to “go nuclear” on the Senate’s rules.
A simple 51-vote majority would slice the cloture requirement out of the Senate rulebook. The Senate has 52 Republicans.
Wiping out cloture could lead to other changes to Senate rules. Senators in both parties say McConnell’s deployment of the nuclear option could lead to the elimination of rules requiring a 60-vote super majority to bring legislation to the Senate floor.
McConnell “is going to do the nuclear option,” Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) told Politico on Friday. “He’s going to break the rules to change the rules. No doubt.”
The battle could be joined Monday, when the Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to approve Gorsuch’s nomination. McConnell has pledged to get Gorsuch confirmed by Friday, when Congress begins a two-week recess.
The cloture rule, adopted in the 1970s, is a major barrier to the Trump team’s plans for tax cuts, budget reforms and health-care overhauls.
“We will overcome the obstructionists, and the United States Senate will confirm Judge Neil Gorsuch one way or the other,” Vice President Mike Pence said Saturday during a speech in Columbus, Ohio.
Even if McConnell keeps his finger off the nuclear-option button, he could force the Democrats to undertake a true “talking filibuster” in which senators opposed to Gorsuch must take the floor with hours-long speeches aimed at stalling a vote.
And as a last resort, the president could install his nominee on the court as a temporary recess appointment.
Trump, meanwhile, issued a weekly video address — complete with stirring sound track — arguing for Gorsuch’s confirmation.