Several Democratic senators said Tuesday night that they won’t support a filibuster against President Donald Trump’s nomination to the supreme court Neil Gorsuch.
Democratic Delaware Sen. Chris Coons said that he will “push for a hearing and I will push for a vote.” Democratic North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp similarly said that “absolutely” Gorsuch will get a full hearing.
These sentiments were shared by Democrats such as Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, California Sen. Claire McCaskill and Montana Sen. Jon Tester. Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin said that he is “not going to filibuster anybody.”
Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who caucuses with the Democrats, seemed open to Gorsuch. “I look forward to questioning Judge Gorsuch about his positions on the most important issues that impact Vermonters and all Americans and his views on recent Supreme Court decisions,” the Vermont senator said in a statement.
While some Democrats such as California Sen. Kamala Harris came out strongly against Gorsuch’s nomination, Hillary Clinton’s running mate Virgnia Sen. Tim Kaine said in a statement that he intends to “carefully scrutinize [Gorsuch’s] temperament and record, particularly on civil rights and other Constitutional guarantees.”
Gorsuch currently serves on the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Denver and was appointed to that post by President George W. Bush in May 2006. He was confirmed unanimously by voice vote, and 11 current Democrat senators, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, voted “yes” for his confirmation.
