Dems Officially Vote To Block Gorsuch As Republicans Prepare ‘Nuclear’ Vote For Later Today
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Apr 6, 2017
Update 1: As expected, Democrats have just voted to temporarily block Judge Neil Gorsuch’s Supreme Court nomination, setting up a “nuclear option” vote for later in the day. Around 11:30AM EST, Senators voted 55-45 on ending debate over President Trump’s pick leaving Republicans 5 votes shy of the 60 vote threshold required.
As we noted earlier, Republicans are planning a vote later today to remove the 60-vote threshold for cloture on Supreme Court nominees, lowering it to a simple majority.
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Back in 2013, before Republicans seized control of the Senate during the 2014 mid-term elections, Democrats became the first party to pursue the “nuclear option” in order to appoint Obama judges over the objection of Republicans. Both Obama and then Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid praised the use of the “nuclear option” at the time:
Obama: “The gears of government have to work. And the step that a majority of senators took today, I think, will help make those gears work just a little bit better.”
Harry Reid: “It’s time to change. It’s time to change the Senate before this institution becomes obsolete.”
And while Democrats celebrated, Mitch McConnell took to the Senate floor to warn his colleagues on the other side of the aisle that they just might come to regret their decision “sooner than you think.”
The Rest…HERE
