Jonathon Berman, (202) 495-3033, joanthon.berman@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted strictly along party lines to vote the confirmation of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court out of committee. Gorsuch’s nomination now heads to the Senate floor without the 60 votes required to confirm a Supreme Court nominee. Should Gorsuch’s nomination fail, either Donald Trump could propose a new nominee, or McConnell could do away with the more than 200-year old precedent and change Senate rules to force the nominee through.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement:
“It was clear when Trump nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch; it was clear when Gorsuch refused to answer practically any question Senate Democrats asked him during the confirmation hearing; and it’s been made clear by the strictly partisan vote today that this nominee is not fit for a lifetime appointment to our country’s highest court. There’s no place for a judge who consistently slams the courthouse doors shut on Americans and citizens groups while flinging them open for corporate polluters and who has a judicial history of ruling against workers’ rights, human rights, civil rights, and the right to clean air and water on the Supreme Court.
“Judge Gorsuch does not belong on the Supreme Court, yet Senate Republicans are now considering ending the more than 200-year old rule that requires every nominee to the Court receive at least 60 votes. This reckless move doesn’t preserve our democracy, it destroys it. Donald Trump is under FBI investigation for his connections to Russia, yet Senate Republicans are intent on doing everything they can do to appease him.”
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