Gorsuch Vote Rescheduled

The Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote on whether to confirm Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the US Supreme Court has been rescheduled to April 3, a delay of a week.

Democrats have threatened to filibuster to block the approval but Republicans hope to get enough votes to confirm before a 2-week Senate recess starts April 8.

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) continues to push for the filibuster. The party’s objection to the nomination is that Gorsuch is a Conservative, though the Democrats have also expressed lingering anger that former President Barack Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland was blocked from the confirmation process by Republicans who refused to even schedule a hearing.

However, Democrats have demanded a 60-vote threshold for Gorsuch’s approval.

There are still 30 Democrats who have not said how they will vote, with senators in states where a majority voted for Trump concerned about going against his nominee.

Republicans hold 52 seats in the Senate.

Gorsuch is widely seen as strict interpreter of the Constitution, and has expressed admiration for the late Justice Antonin Scalia. But in confirmation hearings he refused to say specifically how he would vote on any issues, saying that to promise in advance to vote certain ways would be a violation of the principle of separation of the judiciary branch of government from the legislative and executive branches.