McCain Responds to Filibuster Threat: 'We're Going to Confirm Gorsuch'

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer announced Thursday morning that he will try to lead fellow Senate Democrats to block an up-or-down vote on the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. The Democratic leader demanded a new nominee (who takes a liberal approach to constitutional law).

In a closely divided Senate (Republicans hold a 52-48 majority), it would only take three Republicans to let Schumer have his way, but comments from several Senate Republicans suggest they're not going to give in to Democratic demands.

Arizona senator John McCain hinted Thursday afternoon that he's ready to confirm Judge Neil Gorsuch with a simple majority if Senate Democrats take the unprecedented step of filibustering a Supreme Court nominee. Asked what Republicans should do if 41 or more Democrats try to block Gorsuch, McCain told THE WEEKLY STANDARD: "I think we'll address it when it happens. None of us want to do it, but we're going to confirm Gorsuch."

Earlier Thursday, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina also signaled that he's willing to confirm Neil Gorsuch with a simple majority. "Whatever it takes to get him on the court, I will do," Graham said when asked on the Mike Gallagher radio show about eliminating the 60-vote threshold for Supreme Court nominees, a rules change sometimes known as the "nuclear option."

In 2013, then-Majority Leader Harry Reid invoked the "nuclear option" on federal judges and executive branch appointees. The 2013 rules change didn't explicitly affect Supreme Court nominees, but Reid vowed in October 2016 that fellow Democrats would confirm a Democratic Supreme Court nominee with a simple majority if Democrats won the Senate and the White House.