Key Senate Democrats on Monday dodged questions about whether they might be able to vote to advance the nomination of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, raising more questions about whether Senate Republicans will have to break the rules to get him through the Senate.
Two key Senate Democrats in red states outright refused to answer questions about Gorsuch Monday. As she has in the past, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., told reporters at the Capitol that she was “not going to talk about Gorsuch,” while Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., directed inquiries to his press office.
Those two senators refused to offer any more clarity just hours after Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he is “not inclined” to support a filibuster of Gorsuch. Leahy later walked back that comment, and said Gorsuch would be filibustered if he doesn’t fully answer Democrats’ questions.
A filibuster would happen if Democrats refused to offer at least eight votes to end debate on Gorsuch. Last week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he would vote against Gorsuch and will support a filibuster.
That could lead to a showdown and force Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to invoke the so-called “nuclear option” to put Gorsuch on the bench by changing the rules so that only a simple majority is needed to advance Gorsuch.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, also has not revealed how she plans to vote. On Monday, she indicated that she isn’t sure if Leahy’s initial comments could indicate momentum toward the requisite 60 votes to reach cloture.
“I don’t know at this stage,” Feinstein said. “It’s Monday. I haven’t taken the lay of the land.”
Among red-state Democrats, especially those up for re-election in 2018, the Gorsuch issue remains an open question. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., told reporters Monday that she “hasn’t decided” whether her vote on cloture will mirror her vote on Gorsuch. The comment breaks with her past remark that Gorsuch should “absolutely” receive an up-or-down vote instead of being filibustered.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V. officially announced Monday that he will vote for cloture, breaking from Schumer. He has not announced if he will support the nominee in an up-or-down vote. Meanwhile, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said that his votes on cloture and Gorsuch will be the same and indicated plans to announce his decision later this week or early next week.
Many other Democrats continued to withhold their support or announce their opposition Monday. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Tim Kaine, both of whom are expected to oppose Gorsuch, said they were in the final stages of making a decision. Both also echoed Tester and said that their votes on cloture and in the final vote will not differ. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D- Md., also told reporters that he will announce his decision Tuesday morning.
As for Republicans, many are looking to win the battle on Gorsuch after President Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan cancelled a vote on the American Health Care Act Friday. The vote was pulled due to a lack of support from members of the House Freedom Caucus and moderate Republicans after weeks of unsuccessful cajoling.
Now, however, it’s Democrats that need to be wooed to avoid the possibility of rewriting the Senate rules. Trump sat down with Donnelly, Tester, Heitkamp and Manchin at the White House in early February where they discussed Gorsuch and the White House’s agenda.
A vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Gorsuch’s nomination is slated for April 3 at 10 a.m.
