"Deciding whether to confirm a president's nominee for the highest court in the land is a responsibility I take very seriously", Nelson said in a statement.
Grassley described Gorsuch as an "exceptional nominee" and claimed Democrats would filibuster anyone nominated by President Donald Trump.
"What I can tell you is that Neil Gorsuch will be confirmed this week", McConnell said.
"To Judge Gorsuch and his family - congratulations", said Gardner after the vote. It now appears that Gorsuch will join them: a press release from the Supreme Court's Public Information Office reports that Gorsuch will be sworn in on Monday in two separate ceremonies - a private ceremony at the court and a public ceremony at the White House.
Trump is counting on him to reinstate a conservative-leaning 5-4 court under Chief Justice John Roberts. The court did not give a time for the White House event.
Gorsuch is expected to take the oath on Monday.
The Senate voted Friday to confirm Judge Neil Gorsuch as an associate justice on the Supreme Court, ending a debate that began more than a year ago, spanning two presidents and two nominees, after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.
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With his final vote set for Friday, Gorsuch counts 55 supporters: the 52 Republicans, along with three moderate Democrats from states that Trump won - Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Donnelly of Indiana.
Gorsuch's nomination sailed easily through the Senate after Republicans forced a procedural vote known as the "nuclear option", which eliminated the filibuster for all current and future Supreme Court nominees.
Senate Republicans chose to change the rule after Democrats sought to block Gorsuch's nomination under the existing filibuster rules.
Republicans' decision not to hold a hearing on Judge Merrick Garland, whom President Barack Obama nominated for the same seat during his past year in office, also drove some of the partisan entrenchment in Gorsuch's process.
With Gorsuch replacing fellow conservative jurist Scalia, the balance of the court remains unchanged, but Trump may have the opportunity to nominate additional justices in the coming years.
Mcconnel had earlier condemned the Republicans' move, saying they need to restore the norms and traditions of the senate and get past the unprecedented partisan filibuster. Gorsuch has ruled several times in favor of expansive religious rights during his decade as a judge. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), who said he'd filibuster any nominee other than Garland, spoke for 15 hours on the Senate floor against Trump's nominee. The change has prompted fears that United States presidents could propose more ideologically extreme judges in future given the need for just a 51-49 majority in the Senate.
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