On Thursday morning, Senate Democrats successfully filibustered the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch, setting up an epic standoff between the two political parties.
Although Democrats ensured that Gorsuch will fail to earn the 60 votes needed to end the debate on his nomination, Republicans voted to go with the “nuclear option” to push his confirmation forward. As The New York Times reported, it will forever change the way we confirm all future Supreme Court nominees.
NOW: Senate vote to change rules for #SCOTUS nominations from 60 to simple majority #NuclearOption – LIVE on C-SPAN2 https://t.co/hpMEq9md7D pic.twitter.com/5xkVx8V19X
— CSPAN (@cspan) April 6, 2017
The nuclear option involved Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell changing the Senate rules to allow a simple 51-majority vote—instead of the current 60 votes required by Senate rules—to end debate on the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch (and all future judges). As ABC News explained, the rule change will have lasting effects on the type of judges nominated by either party in the future.
In the past, presidents have nominated moderate judges that would likely clear the 60-vote rule by appealing to both parties, but with a change to a simple majority vote, it may mean future choices will be more polarizing. ABC…
