After weeks of turmoil, the Senate confirmed Trump nominee Neil Gorsuch as the Supreme Court's youngest justice Friday, filling a 14-month vacancy after the death of Antonin Scalia and restoring a rightward tilt that could last for years. The White House says he will be sworn in Monday during a private ceremony at the Supreme Court, followed by a public ceremony at the White House later in the morning. His administration also has faced questions about any role the president's associates may have played in alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election to help Trump.
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. Republicans blocked Barack Obama from filling the seat all past year.
Schumer said he hoped Gorsuch would heed concerns that the Supreme Court is "increasingly drifting toward becoming a more pro-corporate court that favors employers, corporations and special interests over working America".
"Judge Gorsuch's judicial temperament and his ironclad commitment to the Constitution and the rule of law make him an excellent addition to our nation's highest court", the statement said. Johnny Isakson of Georgia, who has been recovering from back surgery, did not vote.
The developments were accompanied by unusually bitter accusations and counter-accusations. "Justice Gorsuch is an outstanding representative of the great state of Colorado, and I am convinced that he will be an exceptional servant to the American people on the bench of the Supreme Court". He was also opposed the fellow Democrats attempts to filibuster.
The key vote happened today, when the Senate Democrats made a decision to filibuster the "cloture" vote, trying to stop Gorsuch from reaching a simple up-or-down vote in the Senate.
How Gorsuch's confirmation could impact the Supreme Court
He smiled as Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. briefly welcomed him and wished him "a long and happy career in our common calling ". But many other newcomers have sat silently and listened to the fast-moving arguments during their first weeks on the high court.
Judge Neil Gorsuch testifies during the third day of his Supreme Court confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill, March 22, 2017 in Washington. McConnell vowed that would not happen on his watch.
Many senators are concerned that getting rid of the 60-vote filibuster for legislation would make it so whichever party is in the majority could ram bills through and diminish the Senate's traditional role of slowing down legislation and finding bipartisan solutions.
Even as Graham and other senior Republicans lamented the voting change, McConnell and some allies argued that all they were doing was returning to a time, not long ago, when filibusters of judicial nominees were unusual, and it was virtually unheard-of to try to block a Supreme Court nominee in that fashion.
McConnell's decision previous year to hold the Supreme Court seat open was seen as a gamble, questioned even by some in his party, but it's now viewed by Republicans as a political master stroke. Gorsuch was on a list of potential justices recommended by the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation during the campaign, and some Republicans even credit the Supreme Court vacancy as one reason Trump won the November election.
"This is the latest escalation in the left's never-ending judicial war, the most audacious yet, and it can not and will not stand", McConnell said. "No. 2 it's genius, in that order, because he knew how much criticism he would get".
On Friday, Neil Gorsuch will replace Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court of the United States. Senate members are expected to cast their final votes for Gorsuch Friday, April 7, according to NBC News.
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