54-45. Manchin a yes vote in a desperate attempt to save his job.
The Senate confirmed Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to succeed the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court Friday, elevating a youthful conservative jurist to the nation’s highest tribunal who could shape American jurisprudence for decades.
The 54-45 vote hewed closely to party lines. Three Democrats, including Sens. Joe Manchin, Heidi Heitkamp, and Joe Donnelly, joined all 52 Republicans in voting for Gorsuch’s confirmation. The vote followed Thursday’s procedural decision by the Senate’s Republican majority to abolish the 60-vote threshold needed to invoke cloture on Supreme Court nominees, colloquially known as the “nuclear option.”
Republican veterans of judicial confirmations trumpeted the confirmation as a triumph of the Scalia legacy.
“Throughout his career, Judge Gorsuch has demonstrated his commitment to judicial independence and to deciding cases according to the law instead of political preferences,” said Leonard Leo, who advises President Donald Trump on judicial confirmations, in a statement to reporters. “I applaud President Trump for choosing such an outstanding nominee, and Leader McConnell and his colleagues for defeating an unprecedented partisan filibuster.”
The Senate confirmed Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to succeed the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court Friday, elevating a youthful conservative jurist to the nation’s highest tribunal who could shape American jurisprudence for decades.
The 54-45 vote hewed closely to party lines. Three Democrats, including Sens. Joe Manchin, Heidi Heitkamp, and Joe Donnelly, joined all 52 Republicans in voting for Gorsuch’s confirmation. The vote followed Thursday’s procedural decision by the Senate’s Republican majority to abolish the 60-vote threshold needed to invoke cloture on Supreme Court nominees, colloquially known as the “nuclear option.”
Republican veterans of judicial confirmations trumpeted the confirmation as a triumph of the Scalia legacy.
“Throughout his career, Judge Gorsuch has demonstrated his commitment to judicial independence and to deciding cases according to the law instead of political preferences,” said Leonard Leo, who advises President Donald Trump on judicial confirmations, in a statement to reporters. “I applaud President Trump for choosing such an outstanding nominee, and Leader McConnell and his colleagues for defeating an unprecedented partisan filibuster.”