Judge Neil Gorsuch, Donald Trump’s freshly minted nominee to succeed Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, is receiving a lot of opposition from Democrats. That includes many in the Senate who confirmed Gorsuch to his seat on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2006. In fact, the judge was confirmed without a single dissenting vote.
A mere two months after President George W. Bush submitted Gorsuch’s name for the Senate’s consideration, not a single Democrat raised a single objection to his confirmation. He was approved on a voice vote.
A video of the confirmation has been preserved for anyone who cares to take that stroll down memory lane.
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
7/20/2006: 45 Democrats Helped Unanimously Confirm #NeilGorsuch pic.twitter.com/x2QKxwSXW1
— Todd Kron (@Toddkron) February 1, 2017
Here is a list of Democrats who supported Gorsuch’s confirmation:
- Then-Senator Barack Obama
- Then-Senator Joe Biden
- Former Sen. Harry Reid
- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer
- Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin
- Sen. Dianne Feinstein (ranking member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary)
- Sen. Maria Cantwell
- Sen. Tom Carper
- Sen. Patrick Leahy
- Sen. Robert Menendez
- Sen. Patty Murray
- Sen. Bill Nelson
- Sen. Jack Reed
- Sen. Debbie Stabenow
- Sen. Ron Wyden
In a stunning about face, Oregon Sen. [score]Ron Wyden[/score], whose name appears last on the list, announced that he would oppose Gorsuch’s Supreme Court nomination, asserting that the judge “harkens back to the days when politicians restricted a people’s rights on a whim.” He tweeted for good measure:
No senator who believes individual rights are reserved to the people, not the government, can support Gorsuch’s nomination.
— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) February 1, 2017
A handful of Democratic Senators indicated they would attempt to stage a filibuster. Sen. [score]Jeff Merkley[/score], also of Oregon, has said he will filibuster any nominee put forward by Trump as payback for Senate Republicans’ refusal to hold a vote for Merrick Garland, whom Obama nominated as lame duck president. According to Merkley (who said in reaction to Trump’s temporary immigration ban that “Lady Liberty is crying”):
This is a stolen seat. This is the first time a Senate majority has stolen a seat. We will use every lever in our power to stop this.
A very large number of my colleagues will be opposed.
This report, by Kevin Daley, was cross-posted by arrangement with the Daily Caller News Foundation.
