Coons Becomes 41st Vote Against Cloture
Democratic Senator Chris Coons has just announced that he will support a filibuster of Judge Neil Gorsuch and will not vote for his confirmation. Coons becomes the 41st Democrat to announce support of a filibuster of Trump’s Supreme Court nominee. Under current Senate rules, Gorsuch cannot be confirmed.Â
“I have decided that I will not support Judge Gorsuch’s nomination in the Judiciary Committee here today,” Sen. Coons announced.
However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has vowed that one way or another Gorsuch will be confirmed on Friday. McConnell likely will use the so-called “nuclear option” to change the rules requiring 60 votes for cloture. That vote will take place on Thursday, and McConnell will probably change the threshold from 60 to 51 votes, a simple majority.
Coons noted that unlike Republicans who refused to even meet with President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, he gave Gorsuch a fair hearing with an open mind. The Senator from Delaware called Republican refusal to allow Garland a hearing and a vote “the longest filibuster in the history of this committee.”
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