Schumer Urges Filibuster to Block Gorsuch Confirmation
To save nomination, GOP likely needs to find Democratic votes or change Senate rulesWASHINGTON—The Senate’s top Democrat will oppose Judge Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation to the Supreme Court and urged his Democratic colleagues to block the nomination.
On the Senate floor, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York said that he couldn’t support President Donald Trump’s nominee, saying he feared he was insufficiently independent of the Trump administration and concerned about his testimony this week before the Senate Judiciary Committee and his history of decisions on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
“I’ve thought long and hard about this nomination and what it means for the future of the Supreme Court and the future of our country,” said Mr. Schumer, the Democratic minority leader. “What is at stake is considerable.”
Mr. Schumer urged his Democratic colleagues to block the confirmation by using a procedural maneuver known as a filibuster, which takes 60 votes to overcome.
Mr. Schumer’s decision sets up a quandary for Republicans in the Senate. Democrats will insist Judge Gorsuch meet the 60-vote threshold to end the filibuster, in a body where Republicans control only 52 seats.
The party will need either to win eight Democratic votes or change the rules to eliminate the 60-vote threshold. The Democrats, when they were in the majority in 2013, eliminated the 60-vote requirement on lower court judges and cabinet nominations but preserved it on Supreme Court nominees.
Republicans have enough votes to change the Senate rules, but such an action is considered drastic. It has drawn concerns from institutionalists in both parties concerned about the comity and working order of the Senate.
“The answer isn’t to change the rules. It’s to change the nominee,” Mr. Schumer said.