Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell late Thursday set up a confirmation vote on Judge Neil Gorsuch for late Friday morning, speeding up a process that could have dragged on into Friday evening.
McConnell took the floor Thursday evening to ask consent that the Senate reconvene Friday at 9:30 a.m., after which there would be two hours of debate. He also asked for a vote on Gorsuch immediately after debate ends, and there was no opposition to his request.
Senate Democrats had the right to delay a vote on Gorsuch until about 7 p.m. Friday, but there was immediate speculation that even Democrats who oppose Gorsuch might agree to an earlier vote in order to get out of town earlier before a two-week Easter break.
The vote will end a tense few weeks in the Senate, during which Republicans called on Democrats to accept Gorsuch, and Democrats warned Republicans not to unilaterally change Senate rules to allow Gorsuch to advance over Democratic objections.
On Thursday, neither side listened to the other party. Democrats filibustered Gorsuch in an attempt to block him, and Republicans changed the rules to allow a simple majority vote to end debate on all Supreme Court nominees.
That change was followed by a second vote, in which debate on Gorsuch ended in a 55-45 vote.
