Ted Cruz warns Democrats that the ‘nuclear option’ is on the table, ‘Democrats are not going to succeed’
Democrats will be primed for a battle over President Trump nomination of Neil Gorsuch as the replacement to Justice Scalia. The left are calling this a “stolen seat” and Sen. Jeff Merkkey, D-Oregon, is calling for a filibuster. Normally that would be expected, but Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas reminded the Democrats of the “nuclear option” a.k.a. the Reid rule, created during the Obama tenure.
Cruz stated during a Tuesday interview that “all procedural options are on the table” when it comes to confirming a strong conservative to replace Justice Scalia on the Supreme Court. Most on the right are supporting the Colorado Judge, but the former GOP Presidential candidate knows a fight is coming.
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“The Democrats are not going to succeed in filibustering the Supreme Court nominee,” Cruz told Politico. “All procedural options are on the table. The bottom line is we will confirm a strong conservative to replace Justice Scalia.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., claims they will oppose any nominee outside the “mainstream,” offering no definitions of the term in the wake of the Trump victory and GOP majority. While Republicans hold a 52-48 majority, they would need 60 votes to override a filibuster, looking to tap the 10 Democratic senators who are up for re-election in states that Trump won last year.
Republicans did not try to filibuster either of former President Obama’s Supreme Court nominees. The only filibuster attempt in the past few decades was by Democrats against Justice Samuel Alito, nominated by former President George W. Bush. The effort failed and Alito was confirmed.
Trump has called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to kill the filibuster if Democrats resist his pick, but McConnell said the decision is not up to Trump.
“That’s not a presidential decision. That’s a Senate decision,” McConnell told Politico.
A more measured response came from Sen. Shelley Capito (R-W.Va.).
“We need to have a Supreme Court justice and that’s going to be our goal. I don’t think tactics are what we’re talking about now,” said Capito (R-W.Va.), who Politico notes is close to McConnell. “I just don’t think we are there discussing it seriously yet.”
Neil Gorsuch
