No. 2 Senate Democrat opposes Trump’s Supreme Court pick
Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) will not vote for President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, joining a growing wave of Democratic opposition.
“I came out of this hearing firmly convinced that I must oppose the nomination of Neil Gorsuch,” the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat said from the floor on Tuesday, announcing his decision.
The Senate Judiciary Committee, of which Durbin is a member, held a four-day hearing on Gorsuch’s nomination last week, with Trump’s pick appearing before the committee for three days.
Durbin said Tuesday he will also oppose Gorsuch during the Judiciary Committee vote on Monday and on cloture on the Senate floor.
{mosads}Durbin pointed to various concerns about Gorsuch’s nomination, including believing Trump’s pick will be too deferential to executive power, favors corporations over individuals and dodged addressing such questions during his hearing.
“In ducking these critical questions Judge Gorsuch ended up saying nothing in the hearing to assuage my concerns,” Durbin said from the Senate floor.
He added that Gorsuch’s work during the Bush-era Justice Department raises “deeply troubling questions about what Judge Gorsuch would do to stand up to this president or any president.”
Democrats have pointed to Gorsuch’s work during the Bush administration’s legal battles to question whether he would push back against Trump, particularly if the White House tries to stretch its authority on national security matters.
Democrats are demanding that Gorsuch get 60 votes to overcome an initial procedural hurdle in the Senate, which would require Republicans to win over eight Democratic senators.
Gorsuch’s path to 60 votes is narrowing ahead of next week’s vote. With Durbin’s opposition 23 Democrats — nearly half of the caucus — have announced they are “no” votes on his nomination.
A spokesman for Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) confirmed on Tuesday morning that he would vote “yes” on the procedural hurdle — making him the only Democrat so far to offer support for getting Gorsuch over the higher threshold.
But Manchin hasn’t announced if he will support Gorsuch in a final confirmation vote.
Republicans have refused to rule out “going nuclear” if Democrats block Gorsuch’s nomination.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) — the No. 2 Senate Republican — asked from the Senate floor on Tuesday if there would be any GOP nominee Democrats would help to confirm.
“What our colleagues are doing are basically saying that no nominee of President Trump or any Republican nominee is going to get confirmed to the Supreme Court because they are going to require 60 votes to do so,” he said. “This would be unprecedented in our nation’s history.”
But Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) — who is urging his colleagues to oppose Gorsuch — said if Trump’s nominee can’t break a filibuster, then the president should pick someone else.
“The idea that if Judge Gorsuch doesn’t get votes, the majority leader has to inexorably change the rules of the Senate, that idea is utter bunk, utter bunk.”
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