On April 3, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted (11-9, along party lines) to advance Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court. The full Senate vote is scheduled for April 7, before Congress goes home for a two-week recess. Several CHN members, including the National Women’s Law Center, National Council of Jewish Women and the Center for American Progress, released statements opposing his nomination.

The Hill is keeping a list of Senate Democrats who have declared their position on the vote. A Senate confirmation vote for Supreme Court nominees can require 60 votes, because it is subject to a filibuster, which takes 60 votes to shut down. President Trump encouraged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to “go nuclear” and change the filibuster rules as they apply to Supreme Court nominees if necessary so that only a simple majority would be needed. McConnell has signaled that he will do so if there are not enough Democrats to attain 60 votes. At this writing, it appears that only a few Democrats would be willing to allow Gorsuch’s nomination to be confirmed. Advocates have been strong in their position that if Gorsuch doesn’t have the 60 votes required for confirmation, Republicans should change the nominee, not the rules.

Subscribe: