Dems reach magic number to block Supreme Court nominee

Source: The Hill | April 3, 2017 | Jordain Carney

Senate Democrats have clinched enough support to block Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court, setting up a “nuclear” showdown over Senate rules later this week.

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) announced on Monday that he will oppose President Trump’s pick on a procedural vote where he will need the support of eight Democrats to cross a 60-vote threshold to end debate on Gorsuch. Coons is the 41st Democrat to back the filibuster.

“Throughout this process, I have kept an open mind. … I have decided that I will not support Judge Grouch’s nomination in the Judiciary Committee meeting today,” Coons said.

“I am not ready to end debate on this issue. So I will be voting against cloture,” Coons said, absent a deal to avoid the nuclear option.

Unless one of the 41 Democrats changes their vote, the filibuster of Gorsuch will be sustained in a vote later this week.

Gorsuch’s path to overcoming a filibuster closed on Monday after Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), Patrick Leahy (Vt.) and Mark Warner (Va.) each announced they would oppose Gorsuch’s nomination.

Only four Democratic senators have said they will support President Trump’s pick on the initial vote to end debate: Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Joe Donnelly (Ind.), Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Michael Bennet (Colo.).

Heitkamp, Donnelly and Manchin are each up for reelection in states carried by Trump in the 2016 election. Bennet — who won reelection last year — has been under a microscope because of Gorsuch’s ties to Colorado and didn’t specify that he would vote for the nominee during a final vote.

Democrats have been under a mountain of pressure from liberal outside groups to block Gorsuch’s nomination. Progressives argue that voting for his nomination — even on a procedural vote — helps enable Trump and is out of line with what the base of the party wants. With Democrats now able to block Gorsuch’s nomination, Republicans are expected to change the rules to circumvent the filibuster.

Though GOP leadership hasn’t specifically said it will use the “nuclear option,” GOP senators appear resigned to lowering the vote threshold for Supreme Court nominations.

“If we have to, we will change the rules, and it looks like we’re going to have to,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said during the Senate Judiciary Committee’s meeting on Gorsuch’s nomination. “I hate that. I really, really do.”

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), the No. 2 Senate Republican and a member of the committee, added that Gorsuch will be confirmed by the end of the week.

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