WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet won’t support a filibuster of Judge Neil Gorsuch, describing Democratic efforts to block the Colorado native from joining the U.S. Supreme Court as taking the Senate in the “wrong direction.”
But the eleventh-hour declaration by the Colorado Democrat is unlikely to make a difference as Democrats to sustain a filibuster within hours of Bennetap decision. The blockade likely will lead to Republicans invoking the so-called “nuclear option” this week to confirm Gorsuch, a judge on the Denver-based 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
At a Monday hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Republicans advanced his nomination along a strict party-line vote as lawmakers in both parties blamed the other for the likelihood that GOP leaders will amend Senate procedure to give Gorsuch the seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
“I find it ironic and sad that we are going to change the rules over somebody who has lived such a good life and who has been such a good judge for such a long time,” said U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. “It says more about the Senate than it does Judge Gorsuch.”
But Democrats, spurred by a liberal base opposed to the conservative jurist, said they are justified in mounting a filibuster after years of similar tactics by Republicans.
“It breaks my heart to find us in this position,” said U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. “But then came this onslaught of filibusters — unprecedented in the history of this body.”
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he wants the full Senate to vote on Gorsuch by Friday — a looming showdown likely to result in a dramatic change to congressional tradition.
In order to overcome a Democratic filibuster, Republicans need 60 votes. But the GOP controls only 52 seats in the upper chamber and, as of Monday afternoon, said they would filibuster him.
The math means that Gorsuch’s nomination would fail under normal circumstances. But McConnell, with the support of President Donald Trump, has vowed to amend Senate rules — the nuclear option — to approve Gorsuch with a bare majority, rather than 60 votes.
If that happens, it would be the first time a Supreme Court nominee would be confirmed through the use of the nuclear option and it would mark the dramatic end to several years of partisan bickering.
Four years ago, when Democrats controlled the Senate, then-U.S. Sen. Harry Reid and other party leaders when it used the procedure to circumvent Republican filibusters of most presidential nominations — though they left it in place for Supreme Court candidates.
Democrats, , voted in favor of the move so they could advance a long list of nominees picked by President Barack Obama but blocked by Republicans.
GOP lawmakers have not forgotten the salvo, nor have Democrats forgotten the decision by Republicans last year to prevent Judge Merrick Garland — Obama’s choice to join the high court — from getting a hearing or a vote.
This back-and-forth, coupled with intense opposition to Gorsuch from liberal groups, has pushed Democrats to mount their historic opposition to the Colorado judge.
Bennet in particular has been lobbied heavily by activists from across the political spectrum. And, , he has waited until the end to make a decision. One reason for the holdup is that Bennet has tried for several weeks to help in which Gorsuch could be confirmed without a filibuster.
“Neither Republicans nor Democrats are blameless for where things stand in our politics and on this nomination. But at some point, we need to take the long view and stand up for our institutions,” Bennet said in a statement. “I will oppose efforts to filibuster the nomination, and strongly encourage my colleagues not to use the nuclear option.”
Later, Bennet said he regretted his 2013 vote in favor of Democrats using the nuclear option. “I think that there are many people who wish that we could do that over and I’m one of those,” he said in a brief interview.
McConnell announced Monday that lawmakers would spend the remainder of the week debating the Gorsuch nomination on the Senate floor. The expectation is that Republicans will move to override the Democratic filibuster Thursday, with a final vote on Gorsuch tentatively planned for Friday.
While Bennet has said he will oppose the filibuster, the Colorado lawmaker has not made public whether he plans to actually support Gorsuch as a nominee.
Asked Monday night about his intention, the senator again punted.
“I’ll let you know when we get past the filibuster,” said Bennet, who added that he remained hopeful the nuclear option still could be avoided. “I want to see how this all plays out.”
A vote in favor of Gorsuch likely would further anger Colorado liberals already upset with his filibuster decision. Among them: NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado, which has been an outspoken opponent of Gorsuch taking the ninth seat on the high court.
“We agree with Sen. Bennet that Washington is broken, but you do not fix it by rewarding bad behavior and further weakening the institution,” said Karen Middleton, the group’s executive director. “Even Sen. (Claire) McCaskill (of Missouri) and fellow westerner Sen. Jon Tester from Montana agree we need the filibuster to block this appointment.”
Bennet’s decision, however, got some kudos from U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Aurora, who applauded him for “taking the high ground.”
If Gorsuch is confirmed to the Supreme Court, he will become Colorado’s first justice since Byron White retired in 1993. His mother, a former , served as head of the Environmental Protection Agency under President Ronald Reagan.
