For weeks, Senate Democrats have teased the possibility of preventing Donald J. Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch, from receiving a full vote by the United States Senate.
In late January, Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley floated the idea of filibustering President Trump’s nominee, after Republicans did not vote on Barack Obama’s nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, during the 2016 election.
Well, Democrats have decided to fully obstruct Judge Garland, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer revealed his party will filibuster his nomination.
Schumer: Democrats will filibuster Gorsuch nominationhttps://t.co/ugNBKwzAy6
— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) March 23, 2017
From The Washington Post:
As the Senate Judiciary Committee was hearing from witnesses for and against Judge Neil Gorsuch, his Supreme Court nomination was delivered a critical blow: Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced he would oppose Gorsuch and join other Democrats in filibustering the nomination, making it likely that the judge will struggle to find the support needed to clear a 60-vote procedural hurdle.
Gorsuch “was unable to sufficiently convince me that he’d be an independent check” on Trump, Schumer said in a Senate floor speech.
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Gorsuch is “not a neutral legal mind but someone with a deep-seated conservative ideology,” Schumer added. “He was groomed by the Federalist Society and has shown not one inch of difference between his views and theirs.”
Schumer’s opposition was widely expected, given his leadership of a party facing increased pressure to block all of Trump’s nominees and policy decisions. In his speech, he echoed the frustrations of Democrats on the Judiciary Committee who have struggled to extract specific answers from Gorsuch this week on specific legal issues or past Supreme Court cases.
If Democrats go through with their filibuster, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will likely change Senate rules so Garland only needs a simple 50-vote majority, known as the nuclear option, to move his nomination to an official vote.
Democrat objections to Gorsuch came on the heels of the nominee received widespread praise for his testimony, including from the American Bar Association, which gave him their highest possible rating. Even the hosts at the liberal NBC News were forced to admit that Democrats failed to even lay a hand on Gorsuch during his confirmation hearing.
Should Republicans implement the nuclear option if Democrats filibuster Gorsuch? Share your thoughts below!