Delaware's Chris Coons became the forty-first senator to pledge a no vote on ending debate of Judge Neil Gorsuch's nomination to the Supreme Court later this week, giving Democrats the minimum number needed to filibuster his confirmation.
Coons, who had wavered on whether he would back the procedural maneuver, made his announcement Monday during speeches ahead of the Senate Judiciary Committee vote that cleared Gorsuch for consideration before the full chamber on an 11-9 party-line vote. But Gorsuch needs all 52 GOP senators plus eight others—for a total of 60—to advance to a final up-or-down vote on his appointment. If the tally holds after Coons's statement, there are only 59 possible yes votes to be had.
"I am not ready to end debate on this issue, so I will be voting against cloture, unless we are able as a body to finally sit down and find a way to avoid the nuclear option and ensure the process to fill the next vacancy on the court is not a narrowly partisan process, but rather an opportunity of both parties to weigh in and ensure we place a judge on the court who can secure support from members of both parties," Coons said.
The "nuclear option" refers to how Republicans might respond to a filibuster of Gorsuch: rewriting the Senate's rules to eliminate the 60-vote threshold for concluding debate on Supreme Court nominees. Democrats executed the same play for lower-court nominees when they held the majority under Sen. Harry Reid during the Obama administration.
Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell has vowed that Gorsuch will be confirmed this week. Multiple GOP lawmakers, including judiciary panel member Orrin Hatch, have said they will put Gorsuch on the High Court regardless of Democratic tactics. "We are going to confirm Judge Gorsuch. By whatever means necessary," Hatch told THE WEEKLY STANDARD's John McCormack.
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05.06.2024