Senate panel expected to vote on Gorsuch today
The Republican-led Judiciary Committee meets today, where Gorsuch is expected to receive the votes to send his nomination to the full Senate, The Associated Press reported.
Gorsuch, a judge on 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, breezed through confirmation hearings after he was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the seat of late justice Antonin Scalia.
U.S Sen. James Lankford (R-Oklahoma) reminded his Democratic colleagues last week that Gorsuch, now 49, enjoyed a unanimous vote in 2006 when he was approved for the 10th Circuit.
“He was seen as a consistent, solid, mainstream, fair judge,” Lankford said on the floor of the Senate.
Among those voting for him were Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Chuch Schumer, and Barack Obama.
While serving on the appeals court, Lankford also said, 97 percent of the court decisions were unanimous and 99 percent of the time Gorsuch voted with the majority, all the while serving with a diverse group of fellow justices that include appointees of Obama and Bill Clinton.
Democrats, however, are threatening to filibuster the nomination while Republicans are threatening to use the “nuclear option” in coming days.
The Senate requires 60 votes to overcome a nominee’s filibuster but Senate Democrats changed that rule in 2013 to allow a simple majority. and it’s unclear if Republicans are willing to use that rule change in their favor.
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