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President Donald Trump is expected to announce his court pick next week. He told Sean Hannity that he has “made my decision pretty much in my mind.” | AP Photo

Trump backs nuclear option if Dems block SCOTUS nominee

If Senate Democrats block his Supreme Court pick, President Donald Trump would encourage Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to go nuclear and further erode the Senate filibuster.

In an interview taped with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Thursday morning, Trump said he “would” encourage McConnell to kill the 60-vote threshold on nominees to the high court.

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“I would. We have obstructionists,” Trump said, dinging Democrats for delaying the confirmations of Sen. Jeff Sessions as attorney general and Mike Pompeo as CIA director. “Why are they doing that?”

McConnell and his deputies have signaled they will do whatever it takes to confirm a Supreme Court nominee after blocking former President Barack Obama from filling the seat for nearly a year. But they have not explicitly said such an earth-shattering rules change is on the table.

In 2013, Senate Democrats killed the supermajority requirement on all nominees but the Supreme Court. And now Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is threatening to block a court pick that is not “mainstream.” The Senate GOP would need at least eight Democrats to confirm a Supreme Court pick under Senate rules, but Republicans could use the unilateral "nuclear option" to changes the rules to a simple majority.

It’s not clear if Republicans could muster enough votes to make a unilateral rules change. Historically, McConnell and people like Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) have been opposed to changing the fabric of the Senate. Republicans would need at least 50 of their 52 members to support such a change.

Trump is expected to announce his court pick next week. He told Hannity that he has “made my decision pretty much in my mind.”

“That’s subject to change at the last moment,” he said. “But I think this will be a great choice.”

The full interview will air Thursday night.