
Neil Gorsuch Confirmed for Supreme Court
Following a partisan battle and a year of contention following the death of Anton Scalia, the Senate has confirmed Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court of the United States. With nearly all Democrats voting against confirmation, the Senate voted along party lines to eliminate the filibuster for Supreme Court confirmations so Gorsuch could be confirmed with only 54 senators supporting him.
Following a partisan battle and a year of contention following the death of Anton Scalia, the Senate has confirmed Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court of the United States. With nearly all Democrats voting against confirmation, the Senate voted along party lines to eliminate the filibuster for Supreme Court confirmations so Gorsuch could be confirmed with only 54 senators supporting him.
Gorsuch will be sworn in on Monday, according to White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, who congratulated the newest Supreme Court justice on Twitter.
Congratulations to Neil
— Sean Spicer (@PressSec)
Gorsuch will join the other Supreme Court justices in time to hear the last round of arguments for the term. His addition to the court will prevent an indecisive 4-4 tie in cases. Gorsuch is expected to rule similarly to the late Scalia, who was a staunch conservative vote. In fact,
Gorsuch could have
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, led the charge to get Gorsuch confirmed, beginning back in February 2016 when he announced that the Senate would not even meet with any nominee put forward by then-President Barack Obama. McConnell's reasoning was that a president in his final year should not have the ability to place a justice on the Supreme Court and that the American people should have their voices heard in the 2016 presidential election. He praised Gorsuch as a "fantastic addition" to the Supreme Court.
"[Gorsuch] has sterling credentials, an excellent record, and an ideal judicial temperament," McConnell
Democrats, who fought tooth and nail to prevent the confirmation of Gorsuch remained in opposition. Senator Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, held the Senate floor for more than 15 hours earlier in the week to protest Gorsuch's nomination, which he called a theft of a Supreme Court seat that belonged to Obama and his pick, Merrick Garland, who is chief judge of the US District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit.
"Gorsuch’s extreme views on worker protections, women’s rights, corporate power, campaign cash and more will have very real and damaging repercussions for the American people for decades to come," Merkley
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