Audio of Senator Claire McCaskill at a fundraiser in conservative Greene county Missouri was provided to the Kansas City Star by the Missouri Republican Party by sources unknown. In the transcripts, McCaskill highlights the perils of opposing Gorsuch, whom she calls “one of the better ones” should a more liberal justice die or retire during President Trump’s term:
“The Gorsuch situation is really hard. There are going to be people in this room that are going to say, ‘No, no, no. You cannot vote for Gorsuch,’ ” McCaskill said in the recording. “Let’s assume for the purposes of this discussion that we turn down Gorsuch, that there are not eight Democrats that vote to confirm him and therefore there’s not enough to put him on the Supreme Court. What then?” She pointed to the list of potential nominees that Trump released before the election to galvanize conservative support. “By the way, Gorsuch was one of the better ones,” McCaskill quipped. “So they pick another one off the list and then they bring it over to the Senate and we say no, no, no, this one’s worse. And there’s not enough votes to confirm him. They’re not going to let us do that too long before they move it to 51 votes,” she said. Democrats eliminated the filibuster for most appointments in 2013 when they controlled the Senate, but left the rule intact for Supreme Court justices.
Senate Republicans have promised that, should eight Democratic votes not materialize, Gorsuch will be confirmed no matter what. Meaning, a slight GOP majority would vote to change the chamber’s rules to eliminate the ability of senators to require 60 votes to ultimately confirm a nominee.
McCaskill continued:
“So they move it to 51 votes and they confirm either Gorsuch or they confirm the one after Gorsuch,” she continued. “They go on the Supreme Court and then, God forbid, Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies, or (Anthony) Kennedy retires or (Stephen) Breyer has a stroke or is no longer able to serve. Then we’re not talking about Scalia for Scalia, which is what Gorsuch is, we’re talking about Scalia for somebody on the court who shares our values. And then all of a sudden the things I fought for with scars on my back to show for it in this state are in jeopardy.”
Such a change would only leave the Senate’s filibuster in place for legislation, giving Trump and Republicans an added ability to confirm any and all offices requiring Senate confirmation with their 52-seat majority.
McCaskill acknowledges this, saying:
“There is enough in his record that gives me pause … so I am very comfortable voting against him, but I’m very uncomfortable being part of a strategy that’s going to open up the Supreme Court to a complete change.”
Senator John McCain, a defender of the Senate’s signature legislative rule, tells Bloomberg he hopes the filibuster for High Court nominations can stay, but doesn’t have high hopes:
“There’s always hope, because maybe we’ll recognize the damage that’s been done to the institution and the American people,” McCain said in an interview Thursday in Washington. “I’ll have conversations but I’m not optimistic.”
