Washington, D.C. – Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today released the following statement on the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch. Earlier today, Senate Republicans voted to change the Senate rules on the confirmation of Supreme Court nominees after some Senate Democrats filibustered the nomination. Bennet spoke on the Senate floor yesterday to urge his colleagues to do whatever they could to avoid invoking the “nuclear option” to change the Senate rules.
“Today’s changes to the Senate’s rules have done lasting damage to the Supreme Court and our process for approving nominees,” Bennet said. “With these changes, justices may now be confirmed with the narrowest partisan majority. Allowing the judiciary to become a pure extension of our partisan politics is precisely the outcome our Founders feared. Moving forward, lifetime appointments to our highest court could become just another political exercise.
“We cannot ignore this new reality, and I am forced to consider President Trump’s current nominee – and all future nominees – in that context.
“I am proud Judge Gorsuch is from Colorado. He is a qualified judge who deserves an up-or-down vote. That is the tradition of the Senate, and it is why I opposed a filibuster before the rule change.
“Judge Gorsuch is a very conservative judge and not one that I would have chosen. For the reasons I have said, I had concerns about his approach to the law. Those concerns grow even more significant as we confront the reality that President Trump may have several more opportunities to transform the Court with a partisan majority.
“For all these reasons, I will vote no on the nomination.”