When the Senate Judiciary Committee considers the nomination today of Judge Sonya Sotomayor to be the next Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, expect a 13-6 vote, with every Democrat backing her nomination and all but one GOP lawmaker opposing it.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, announced Monday he will vote “no” on Sotomayor, joining GOP Sens. Orrin Hatch, of Utah, John Cornyn, of Texas, Jon Kyl, of Ariz. and panel ranking member Jeff Sessions, of Ala.
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., has not said how he will vote, but given his significant criticism of Sotomayor during her confirmation hearings earlier this month and the fact that he is very conservative it would be downright surprising if he voted “yes.”
One Republican, Sen. Lindsey Graham, of South Carolina, announced he will vote in favor of Sotomayor’s confirmation, saying he was troubled by some of her rulings and speeches, but that he expected her to be no more liberal than the man she is replacing, retired Justice David Souter.
In what will be another perfunctory exercise, the full Senate will vote on Sotomayor next week where at least a small handful of Republicans is expected help make her the first Latina Justice on the court.
Sotomayor’s road to the Supreme Court has been made easy by the huge majority Democrats enjoy in the Senate. They control 60 votes, exactly enough to confirm Sotomayor without one GOP vote. On the Judiciary Committee, the ratio is 12 to 7 in favor of the Democrats.
