Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) knocked a growing wave of opposition against Judge Neil Gorsuch, arguing Democrats are “whining” about President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee.
“They lost the election. They knew this was going to be a big deal if they won, and the Republicans would pretty well have to go along with whoever they chose,” Hatch, a former Judiciary Committee chairman, said from the Senate floor.
He added that Trump couldn’t have picked a “better qualified” nominee, adding: “So what’s all the whining about?”
{mosads}With Gorsuch’s nomination coming to the Senate floor next week, senators are stepping up their rhetorical warfare over the nominee and using the “nuclear option” to change the Senate’s rules if Democrats filibuster his nomination.
Thirty-two Democrats have announced they will oppose Gorsuch’s nomination, according to The Hill’s whip list, though a few have left the door open to helping him get over the 60-vote procedural hurdle.
Hatch — repeating a frequent GOP talking point — argued on Wednesday that Democratic opposition is tied to lingering bitterness over losing the 2016 presidential election.
“I know what’s wrong with the Democrats on this. They lost, and it’s hard thing for them and I don’t blame them. It is a hard thing because they were so sure that they would control this nominee to the Supreme Court,” he said.
But Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) — who laughed when Hatch made a similar argument in February — argued on Wednesday that the onus is on Republicans and the White House to put up a nominee who could overcome a historically rare Supreme Court filibuster.
The Senate’s top Democrat added that it’s a “false narrative” that senators have to change the rules if his conference blocks Gorsuch’s nomination.
“The majority’s trying to make this a binary choice, confirm Gorsuch or change the rules, not so. Just not so,” he said. “If the majority chooses to go that route, they do so at their own volition. No one is forcing them to do so.”
Gorsuch will need to win over eight Democrats to break a filibuster of his nomination. Only Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has explicitly said he will vote for cloture.