Republicans braced for fight over Gorsuch
Print Edition
SENATE Republicans stood united behind President Donald Trump’s nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, bracing for a bitter, months-long fight with Democrats over a conservative judge similar in philosophy to the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell praised Gorsuch, a Denver-based judge on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, saying he “has an impressive background and a long record of faithfully applying the law and the Constitution.”
One after the other, Senate Republicans echoed the leader, describing Gorsuch as a well-qualified jurist.
If confirmed, the 49-year-old would be the youngest justice on the court and could be shaping decisions for decades.
Democrats signaled they will challenge the choice, insisting that Gorsuch, the Ivy League-educated son of a former Reagan Cabinet official, prove to them he is a mainstream nominee.
Democrats are still furious with the way Republicans treated former President Barack Obama’s nominee for the open seat last year, refusing to even grant a hearing or a vote to Judge Merrick Garland in Obama’s final year in office.
Instead, the seat remained empty for 10 months and the court operated with eight justices as McConnell maintained the next president should make the nomination.
“This is a stolen seat being filled by an illegitimate and extreme nominee, and I will do everything in my power to stand up against this assault on the court,” said Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley.
On Monday, before the nominee was announced, Merkley suggested he will hold up the nomination and force Republicans to find 60 votes for confirmation. Republicans hold a 52-48 majority.
Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer hasn’t officially said whether he would back a filibuster, the procedural maneuver that would require 60 votes. But he said after the nomination was announced that the Senate “must insist” on 60 votes, meaning McConnell will need bipartisan support. And any senator can move to filibuster.
Democrats are under intense pressure from liberal groups and the party base to challenge every Trump nominee. As the nomination was announced, hundreds were protesting at Schumer’s Brooklyn home, pressuring him to vote against Cabinet picks and block the Supreme Court nominee.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
