Did you hear that? They said they were going to do it and by golly, the Republicans appear to be following through.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has triggered the so-called ‘nuclear option,’ countering Democrats who bowed down to the extreme wing of their party by filibustering Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.
The Democrat filibuster temporarily halted the confirmation of Gorsuch, due to Republicans controlling only 52 seats in the Senate. Democrats had demanded a 60-vote threshold for his appointment.
Judge Gorsuch’s nomination will face a cloture vote & as I’ve said, he will have to earn sixty votes for confirmation. My vote will be “No.”
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 23, 2017
Republicans have countered by triggering the nuclear option, a move that abolishes the 60-vote requirement for Supreme Court nominees, something the Democrats themselves instituted for other judicial nominees under the leadership of Harry Reid in 2013.
Republicans went nuclear. Neil Gorsuch is heading to Supreme Court. https://t.co/YJIT7saBeP#Resist #Resistance #Indivisible#Rethuglicans pic.twitter.com/kZE6qCVHpO
— McSpocky™ 👽🖖 (@mcspocky) April 6, 2017
Thank you Harry!
That poetically just move all but ensures President Trump’s nominee will be the successor to the late justice Antonin Scalia.
Via Fox News:
Senate Republicans deployed the so-called “nuclear option” Thursday in their drive to confirm Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, dramatically changing the way the Senate does business in order to overcome a Democratic filibuster.
In a fast-paced chain of events, majority Republicans voted to change Senate precedent so that a high court nominee can move to final confirmation with a simple majority of just 51 votes, as opposed to 60.
By Senate standards, this was ground-shaking.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., declared he did so to “restore norms” and get past what he called an “unprecedented” Democratic filibuster.
Trump had urged Republicans in the Senate to invoke the nuclear option.
“If we end up with that gridlock I would say if you can, Mitch, go nuclear,” Trump said. “That would be an absolute shame if a man of this quality was caught up in the web. It’s up to Mitch, but I would say go for it.”
Today, Mitch went for it.
The Democrats insistence on filibustering an eminently qualified individual in Gorsuch could be a nightmare for their party. Republicans are largely predicted to be holding onto power in Congress past 2018, meaning the need for only a simple majority on Supreme Court nominees may come up again should there be any further retirements or vacancies.
Anything could happen over the next four years. But it appears the Democrats just flew a suicide mission and the Republicans helped push it along with a congressional nuclear bomb.
Do you support triggering the nuclear option for Supreme Court nominees? Share your thoughts with us below.
