Senators ready to blame opposing party for any upending of Senate rules
Posted Mar 23, 2017 5:03 AM
Bridget Bowman
@Bridget Bowman
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Supreme Court Justice nominee Neil Gorsuch testifies on the second day of his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
With Judge Neil Gorsuch’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings wrapping up, senators will soon confront whether his nomination will upend Senate rules.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has not yet said whether he would move to change Senate rules that currently require 60 votes to end debate on Gorsuch’s nomination. If eight members of the Democratic caucus do not join the 52 Republicans to move the nomination forward, McConnell could move to change the rules, lowering the threshold to a simple majority.
At his regularly scheduled Tuesday press conference with his leadership team, McConnell did not directly address whether he would do so. But he did question whether a Democratic blockade of Gorsuch would signal a broader issue for future high court nominees.
“I haven’t seen a single Democrat, unless there’s one you’ve observed, indicate they were prepared to either vote for cloture or to vote for him,” the Kentucky Republican said.
“Leading you to ask the following question: If Judge Gorsuch can’t achieve 60 votes in the Senate, could any judge appointed by a Republican president be approved with 60 or more votes in the Senate?” McConnell said.
See more at:
http://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/nuclear-option-looms-as-supreme-court-hearings-wrap-up#sthash.vRy10YB6.dpuf
