Jonathon Berman, (202) 495-3033, jonathon.berman@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC -- Today, Senate Republicans rushed through a confirmation vote on Donald Trump’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. Judge Neil Gorsuch has been met with widespread criticism both across the country and from the Senate before, during, and after his confirmation process.
For more than 200 years, the Senate have honored a 60 vote margin for Supreme Court nominees to be confirmed. Gorsuch only received 55. According to existing Senate procedure, Gorsuch’s nomination would be defeated, and the Senate would move forward without confirming him to the Court. Instead, it appears that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will change the rules for what had been deemed the “greatest deliberative body” to force Gorsuch’s nomination through.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement:
“The Senate rightfully rejected Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. It is their duty to to advise and consent on judicial nominees, and with this vote, they refused their consent and advised Donald Trump that Gorsuch is not fit to be granted a lifetime appointment to America’s highest court.
“We live in a representative democracy, where the people are to be the ones in charge. Yet, Senate Republicans are seeking to rig the system to appease their leader, Donald Trump, in order to put a man on the Supreme Court that has been backed by $10 million in shadowy money from big corporations. This is not how democracy works, and Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republicans should be ashamed of themselves.
“Senate Republicans have a choice to make: do they want to serve the American people, or do they want to serve Donald Trump. At the perilous cost to the people and our democracy, it appears they’ve already made up their minds.”
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