Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado said he will not join the Democratic filibuster of Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court, warning the effort will “only further politicize the Supreme Court and prevent the Senate from blocking more extreme judges in the future.”
“Neither Republicans nor Democrats are blameless for where things stand in our politics and on this nomination,” Mr. Bennet said in a statement. “But at some point, we need to take the long view and stand up for our institutions.”
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, New York Democrat, has decided to filibuster Mr. Gorsuch — a strategy that forces the GOP to gain the support of eight Democrats or to lower the threshold for confirmation from 60 votes to a simple majority by rewriting the rules through the so-called “nuclear” option.
Three Democrats from states that President Trump won in the 2016 election — Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Heidi Heitkamp of South Dakota and Joe Donnelly of Indiana — have announced they plan cast their votes in support of Mr. Gorsuch.
Mr. Trump lost Colorado.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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