WASHINGTON—The top Democrat in the U.S. Senate said on Sunday it was “highly, highly unlikely” that Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch would garner enough support this week to clear a procedural hurdle to a final vote.
Democrats are nearly unified in their opposition to President Donald’s Trump’s court pick and intend to filibuster the nomination, which would force Republicans to come up with 60 votes to move forward. Republicans control the Senate 52-48.
“It’s highly, highly unlikely that he'll get to 60,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Eight Democrats would need to side with Republicans to break a filibuster. So far, only two Democrats have voiced support for Gorsuch, while 36 have indicated support for a filibuster.
If the planned filibuster holds, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell would be forced to change Senate rules to allow the nomination of the conservative appeals court judge to be approved by a simple majority.
