Some Democrats Worry A Vicious Fight Over Supreme Court Seat Could Further Damage The Senate

WASHINGTON ― Senate Democrats have about a month to figure out what they want to do about Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump’s pick to fill the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the late Justice Antonin Scalia. Right now, they’re being pulled in different directions: On one end is a base calling out for absolute obstruction, and on the other are moderates who fear that picking this fight could ruin their ability to stop Trump at a more critical juncture in his presidency. If Democrats filibuster Gorsuch, it’s likely Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will invoke the nuclear option ― disrupting the rules of the Senate in order to push through Trump’s nominee with only 50 votes. That opens the door for McConnell to make a few other rule changes and further hurt the Democratic minority. Almost immediately after Trump announced Gorsuch as his pick, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Democrats would hold the nominee to the 60-vote threshold needed to clear a filibuster. But it’s unclear if Democrats will stay united and vote in bloc against Gorsuch. “Those who say at the end of this process there are only two possible results — that the Senate will confirm this nominee or the Republicans will use the nuclear option to change the rules of the Senate — are dead wrong,” Schumer said Wednesday on the Senate floor. “That is a false choice.” But Schumer’s game theory relies on McConnell sending Gorsuch back to the White House and not using the procedural weapon he has handy. The Republican leader has said repeatedly in the past 24 hours that “Gorsuch will be confirmed,” apparently betting that Trump’s nominee will somehow clear the 60 votes needed ― meaning at least eight Democrats will vote to confirm him. McConnell on Schumer: “We’ll see whether all his Democrats follow him .. It’s a very challenging situation he’s in he has my sympathies.” — Erica Werner (@ericawerner) February 1, 2017 Many Senate Democrats were still processing the pick in the hours after Trump’s announcement, but the divisions were already starting to show. Liberals want Gorsuch denied the seat; moderates want the process to work its will and warn that a bitter fight ending in rules being changed could damage the institution and further widen the already gaping chasm between the two parties. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) said he wants Gorsuch to get what former President Barack Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, never did: a hearing, a committee vote and a floor vote. He wouldn’t say how he plans to vote, but voiced concern over the possibility that McConnell will use the nuclear option. “I think it’s premature to come out and say I oppose this nominee,” Coons said, adding that the current political atmosphere makes him wonder if Republicans and Democrats will ever find a way to work together again. “If all we do is continue to exact a pound of flesh from each other, we will eventually strip our republic bare to the […]

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