Grassley says Gorsuch is ‘mainstream’ judge

Republican leaders, however, have a way out – they can trigger what’s known as the nuclear option, by changing Senate precedent to advance to a final vote with the support of just 51 senators, as opposed to 60.

Democrats repeatedly cited several specific cases out of the 2,700 or so that Gorsuch has ruled on, his allegedly vague and over-broad answers during his confirmation hearing, and the refusal by Senate Republicans past year to consider then-President Barack Obama’s nominee, Judge Merrick Garland. In making the nomination, President Donald Trump said Gorsuch has all “the qualities that define the will of the people”. Why is that not a double standard? “I’m a Trump supporter and I thought it was amusing”, Reddit user outfishin wrote.

Presidents change and lawmakers come and go, but The Times is always here, and FREE online.

This logic is, of course, infuriatingly circular.

If Senate leaders invoke the so-called nuclear option, Gorsuch will nearly certainly be confirmed, since every Republican lawmaker is expected to back the judge’s nomination.

HATCH: That’s what democracy is. There are 10 such senators in that position, but several others have said they will stick with the rest of their party and vote against Gorsuch.

“Our job is to assess whether the nominee will protect the legal and constitutional rights of all Americans and whether the nominee recognizes the humanity and justice required when evaluating the cases before him”, she said.

Over on MSNBC, South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham didn’t fare much better in the persuasion department, calling the filibuster of Gorsuch “the end of bipartisanship on judges”. They want to block Gorsuch and force Trump to pick another nominee who Democrats could back. Durbin quoted the late liberal Supreme Court Justice William Brennen as calling the very idea judges can find the intention of the Founders as “arrogance cloaked in humility”. The upper chamber, like its House brother, will be a place where majority makes might – and where the idea of reaching across the aisle is essentially a non-starter. “He does not fit that profile of what this country needs as a Supreme Court justice”, said Markey, speaking to reporters at the Northeastern event. “That is what happens when you do it in on party”. He was approved by a voice vote in the U.S. Senate. When it comes to judges, it will be a partisan exercise.

A full Senate vote on Gorsuch is expected to happen Friday.

In between, President John Tyler broke with the Whigs who controlled the Senate and couldn’t even get a vote for three nominees. Hey it’s actually pretty fearless of Graham to stand up and speak in defense of institutions, you might be thinking right now.

The two Senate leaders agreed on one point: Both said they believed the filibuster rule regarding legislation would survive, even if the Senate eliminates filibusters for all judicial nominees.

Coons’ opposition will prevent Republicans from reaching the 60 votes they need to move Gorsuch over procedural hurdles to a final Senate vote.

“Only once in Senate history, in 1968, was a Supreme Court nomination thwarted by less than a majority of the Senate, when the nomination of Justice Abe Fortas to Chief Justice (and the concurrent nomination of Homer Thornberry to replace Fortas as Associate Justice) was put to a cloture vote, and got 45?yes” votes and 43 “no” votes.