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Moving Along: Senate committee backs Neil Gorsuch for Supreme Court

Claire Chretien : Apr 4, 2017
LifeSiteNews.com

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, suggested the 2016 presidential election was a "referendum" on replacing the late Justice Scalia's Supreme Court seat. He blasted Democrats for promising to filibuster Gorsuch, noting a "litany of liberals" have expressed their support for his nomination.

airlift(Washington, DC)—[LifeSiteNews] The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 11 to 9 [Monday] to advance Judge Neil Gorsuch's nomination to the Supreme Court. (Photo: via LifeSiteNews.com)

The full U.S. Senate is expected to vote on Gorsuch's confirmation on Thursday. Democrats have vowed to filibuster Gorsuch, meaning Republicans may have to change Senate rules to allow Gorsuch to be confirmed with 51 rather than 60 votes. There has never before been a successful partisan filibuster of a Supreme Court nominee in the Senate.

The Senate Judiciary Committee's vote was along party lines.

Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-IA, stressed during his open statement that Gorsuch is mainstream and fair.

"Even Rachel Maddow said ... 'the judge is a fairly mainstream choice that you might expect from any Republican president,'" Grassley recalled.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, complained about the "dark money" supporting Gorsuch's nomination. She gave a lengthy speech about various concerns she holds on confirming Gorsuch, such as unanswered questions about where he stands on affirmative action and torture.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-VT, fretted about how Gorsuch wouldn't comment on women and contraception or explicitly say that Roe v. Wade is "settled law."

"I will vote for [Gorsuch] with a very clear conscience," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC. He called it "a bit of a stretch" and "quite frankly, unfair to the judge" to suggest Gorsuch doesn't support Griswold v. Connecticut, which says married couples have a right to use contraception.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, suggested the 2016 presidential election was a "referendum" on replacing the late Justice Scalia's Supreme Court seat. He blasted Democrats for promising to filibuster Gorsuch, noting a "litany of liberals" have expressed their support for his nomination.

Throughout his more than 20 hours of confirmation hearings, Gorsuch refused to say how he would rule in future cases, or what his personal opinion of...

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