On the recordFebruary 1, 2017
I rise today on a matter of great importance to everyone in this body and everyone in America: the future of the Supreme Court. Last night, the President nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch. We in the Senate have a constitutional duty to examine his record robustly, exhaustively, and comprehensively, and then advise and consent if we see fit. We have a responsibility to reject if we do not. We Democrats will insist on a rigorous but fair process. There will be 60 votes for confirmation. Any one Member can require it. Many Democrats already have. And it is the right thing to do. On a subject as important as a Supreme Court nomination, bipartisan support should be a prerequisite; it should be essential. That is what 60 votes does. This is nothing new. It was a bar met by each of President Obama's nominations. In my mind, 60 votes is the appropriate way to go, whether there is a Democratic President or a Republican President, Democratic Senate or a Republican Senate. Because a 60-vote threshold is essential, those who say that at the end of this process, there are only two possible results--that the Senate will confirm this nominee or the Republicans will use the nuclear option to change the rules of the Senate--are dead wrong. That is a false choice. If this nominee cannot meet the same standard that Republicans insisted upon for President Obama's Supreme Court nominees--60 votes in the Senate--then the problem lies not with the Senate but with the nominee.…
