Trump Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch easily won the political hearts of Republican senators, who hope he can deliver on overturning Roe v. Wade. Hell, even the revelations of Gorsuch’s prep-school “Fascism Forever” club didn’t deter dead-set supporters. However, Gorsuch faced an uphill battle with Democrats from the beginning, partially because Obama nominee Merrick Garland never stood a chance after being blocked by the GOP, and so, the lines were drawn. Now, some key Senate Democrats are vowing to filibuster Gorsuch and fight until the bitter end.
The New York Times quotes Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) as standing firmly against Gorsuch. He will vote no and vigorously stated, “He will have to earn 60 votes for confirmation.” Since there are currently 52 Republican senators in the mix, that means at least 8 Democrats must be wooed over to the Gorsuch side. However, Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) has also spoken out against the Trump nominee, and these two key Democrats may inspire the rest to resist. The Washington Post reveals more harsh words from Schumer and explains how the filibuster could affect already strained Senate relations:
On Thursday, Schumer warned that they should focus instead on changing Trump’s nominee. “If this nominee cannot earn 60 votes — a bar met by each of President Obama’s nominees, and George Bush’s last two nominees — the answer isn’t to change the rules. It’s to change the nominee,” he said.
It is not clear that Democrats have the votes to block Gorsuch and to keep Republicans from changing the chamber’s way of doing business. But Schumer’s announcement is likely to further politicize an already divided Congress. In the last 47 years of Supreme Court nominations — spanning the appointments of the 16 most recent justices — only Samuel A. Alito Jr. was forced to clear the 60-vote procedural hurdle to break a filibuster.
CNN also reveals that the latest round of Senate hearings include 28 outside witnesses, both of the left and right persuasions, to hammer out the matter, which — let’s get real — will likely not prevent a filibuster.
Of course, it’s no real surprise to see Schumer oppose Gorsuch, as there’s a deep ideological divide between the two men. Further scrutiny by Al Franken illuminated a previous ruling by Gorush, in which he sided with a corporation in a heartbreaking case. Whatever the outcome of this filibuster shall be, fireworks are sure to arrive. One sad note — there won’t be any storybook reading by Ted Cruz. Maybe next time!
(Via New York Times, Washington Post & LA Times)