Senate confirms Gorsuch to Supreme Court, giving Trump big win

By Alexander Bolton - 04/07/17 11:58 AM EDT
 
The Senate on Friday confirmed Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, giving President Trump the biggest victory of his first 100 days in office.
 
The 54-45 vote caps a bitter political battle that began with the death of Justice Antonin Scalia more than a year ago and resulted in the Senate triggering the so-called “nuclear option” to block the Democrats’ ability to filibuster Gorsuch.
 
 
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But notably, two Democrats facing re-election in 2018 in states Trump won by double digits — Sens. Claire McCaskillClaire McCaskillThe Hill's 12:30 Report Senate confirms Gorsuch to Supreme Court, giving Trump big win GOP senator: Trump’s wall a ‘metaphor’ for securing border MORE (Mo.) and Jon TesterJon TesterThe Hill's 12:30 Report Senate confirms Gorsuch to Supreme Court, giving Trump big win Bill seeks to ensure counseling access for victims of military's nude-photo scandal MORE (Mont.) — voted no, a reflection of Trump’s slumping approval rating among independents and the boiling rage of the Democratic base over his 2016 electoral victory.
 
Senate Democratic Leader Charles SchumerCharles SchumerUS launches missile strike against Syria in response to gas attack McConnell tees up Thursday Supreme Court showdown With 'nuclear option' vote, Collins puts her 'moderate' label on the line MORE (N.Y.) said the fight will leave a scorch mark on the Senate after Republicans employed the nuclear option to steamroll their filibuster of the nominee.
 
“It will make this body a more partisan place. It will make the cooling saucer of the Senate considerably hotter, and I believe it will make the Supreme Court more of a partisan place,” Schumer said on the Senate floor Friday.
 
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellMitch McConnellThe Hill's 12:30 Report Senate confirms Gorsuch to Supreme Court, giving Trump big win McConnell talking to Romney about Senate race MORE (R-Ky.), however, argued that the change to the filibuster rule, which Republicans made with a party-line vote Thursday, would restore the Senate to its tradition of not filibustering judicial nominees.
 
He praised Gorsuch’s credentials Friday as “sterling,” his record as “excellent” and his judicial temperament as “ideal.”
 
He said he wished “that important aspects of this process had played out differently” but held out hope that “today is a new day” and that Democrats would not hold a grudge as the chamber considers other priorities this year.
 
“I hope my Democratic friends will take this moment to reflect and perhaps consider a turning point in their outlook going forward,” he said.
 
Some Democrats questioned whether it was worth getting into a showdown with McConnell over Gorsuch and losing their power to filibuster a future Supreme Court nominee.
 
These few dissenters thought it might be tougher for Republicans to change the rules if a swing seat on the court became open later on in Trump’s term when he might have less political capital.  
 
Democratic leaders, however, disagreed, arguing that McConnell would be just as likely like to change the rules in the future.
 
Democrats tried to block Gorsuch because they believed his judicial record tended to favor powerful interests over the “little guy” but also because they were still furious over Republicans’ treatment of Judge Merrick Garland, whom President Obama nominated a year ago to fill the vacancy left by Scalia.
 
McConnell announced immediately after Scalia’s death that Garland would not receive consideration by the GOP-controlled Senate and that the winner of the presidential election should pick the nominee.
 
Democrats argued that decision broke 230 years of precedent and would best be remedied by Gorsuch withdrawing and Trump picking a “more mainstream candidate.”
 
That proposal went nowhere as Republicans argued that Trump made clear during last year’s election that he would pick a judge from a list of 21 conservatives, on which Gorsuch was included.
 
A CNN exit poll showed that 56 percent of Trump voters said the Supreme Court was “the important factor” in their votes, and 46 percent said it was “an important factor.”
 
Gorsuch will maintain the ideological balance of the court as he replaces one of its most outspoken and conservative voices.
 
He called Scalia a “mentor” at his confirmation hearings and, like his predecessor did, takes an originalist approach to the law that carefully weighs the intentions of the nation’s founding fathers and reads legal language strictly.
 
That approach became a sticking point for Democrats, who criticized him for relying on what they called overly literal readings of the law to decide in favor of powerful interests, such as a trucking company in TransAm Trucking v. Administrative Review Board that fired a driver who refused to stay for hours with a disabled vehicle in freezing weather.
 
Republicans countered by touting Gorsuch’s academic and professional credentials, his clerkships with two Supreme Court Justices Anthony Kennedy and Byron White, his unanimous rating of well qualified by the American Bar Association, and his record of deciding with the majority in 99 percent of the cases he heard.
 
Gorsuch appeared poised to sail through the Senate as Democrats earlier this year were more focused on Trump’s more controversial Cabinet appointees, such as Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and Attorney General Jeff SessionsJeff SessionsSenate confirms Gorsuch to Supreme Court, giving Trump big win Nunes's recusal a win for transparency, but it's not enough Kushner left Russian meetings off security clearance forms MORE.
 
Democrats had failed to dig up any seriously damaging writings, statements or indiscretions and even Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the most liberal justice on the high court, said Gorsuch was “very easy to get along with.”
 
The lack of strong early resistance angered liberal groups, including NARAL Pro-Choice America, MoveOn.Org and SEIU, who wrote a stern letter to Democratic senators early last month exhorting them to “do better.”
 
The Judicial Crisis Network, a conservative group backing Gorsuch, countered pressure from the left by launching a $10 million advertising campaign to bolster his nomination. The National Rifle Association also poured in $1 million to help Gorsuch.
 
It became apparent Monday that Gorsuch would not win confirmation unless Republicans changed the filibuster rule when several Democrats who were on the fence came out against his nomination.
 
By Monday evening, 42 Democrats and one independent, Sen. Bernie SandersBernie SandersSanders: Syria strikes could lead to Middle East quagmire Senate confirms Gorsuch to Supreme Court, giving Trump big win O'Reilly's book tops NY Times best-seller list MORE (Vt.), had announced they would vote to block him receiving a final vote. McConnell announced the next day that he had the votes to trigger the nuclear option. 
 

 

Tags Claire McCaskill Charles Schumer Mitch McConnell Heidi Heitkamp Johnny Isakson Bernie Sanders Jeff Sessions Joe Donnelly Joe Manchin Mike Pence Jon Tester