Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, announced Tuesday that he will oppose Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court and join a Democratic filibuster to stop it.
“I am announcing today my opposition to the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the United States Supreme Court. This has not been an easy decision,” King said in a statement before laying out his reasoning.
The Maine independent, who caucuses with the Democrats, described Gorsuch’s answers during Senate Judiciary Committee testimony as “at best, increasingly evasive” and “at worst, simply not forthright.” He also claimed that Gorsuch came across as a “judicial activist” that would be well to the right of anyone else on the court, including Justice Clarence Thomas.
King also argued it was reasonable for a Supreme Court nominee to reach the 60-vote threshold required for cloture under current Senate rules.
“While I still believe in reform of the institution so that we can stop the logjam in Washington, it seems to me that for major policy decisions, like a lifetime appointment, it is not unreasonable to require 60 votes in order to garner broader, more sustainable bipartisan support, which I think is in the interest of the nation,” King said.
“Although there could be circumstances where it might be appropriate to support cloture and then vote against the nomination, the current status of this procedure does not strike me as such a case. If I am opposed to this nomination, it seems logical to oppose cloture because under the current rules, this would defeat the nomination,” he continued. “To support cloture in the current circumstance would make me guilty of ‘complicity’, to borrow Judge Gorsuch’s memorable term.”
“If Judge Gorsuch is ultimately confirmed, I sincerely hope my concerns and fears will be proven wrong; I would be delighted if this is the case,” King wrote. “But in good conscience, I must vote my convictions and not my hopes — and my convictions in this case tell me ‘no’.”
The announcement gives Democrats 44 votes against ending debate and in favor of filibustering Gorsuch’s nomination. Since Monday, Senate Democrats have called for Gorsuch’s nomination to be withdrawn and for the two parties to find a consensus nominee instead.
Senate Republicans may detonate the “nuclear option” and lower the threshold for breaking a filibuster from 60 to 51 votes. Sehate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters again Tuesday that he has the votes to change the rules in order confirm Gorsuch to the bench.
