The Senate Judiciary Committee is debating and voting on Neil Gorsuch’s Supreme Court nomination today. Democrats have the 41 votes they need to filibuster Gorsuch, but the GOP is vowing to confirm him anyway.
This is ahead of a final Senate vote which the Republicans want to take place no later than Friday, which would confirm Gorsuch as the next Supreme Court Justice.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is debating Gorsuch’s nomination right now. The Republican-led committee is expected to back him and send the nomination to the full Senate. This will likely be a party-line vote. If the Democrats do filibuster, then Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he will change the Senate rules to confirm Gorusch with a simple majority rather than the typical 60-vote requirement.
Here’s a live stream provided by Time, in case the one above stops working:
Members of the committee are being vocal about their decisions. Patrick Leahy, for example, said he thought Gorsuch’s answers were evasive and, although ending the filibuster would damage the Senate, he must vote his conscience, The Washington Post reported.
If Gorsuch is approved today, then debates over his nomination will begin in the full Senate as early as Tuesday morning and a vote will likely be on Friday.
