Neil Gorsuch's nomination: Senate Democrats have enough votes to filibuster

Democrats vow to filibuster Neil Gorsuch's Supreme Court nomination

Reported by Rebecca Shabad, Emily Schultheis, Kathryn Watson, Blair Guild, John Bat, Joshua Cartwright, Rebecca Kaplan, and Ellen Uchimiya 

Opposition to Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch among Senate Democrats has grown exponentially, and they now have enough votes to filibuster his nomination. 

Republicans needed eight Democrats to advance his nomination to a final vote to confirm him. Currently, the Senate has 52 Republicans and 48 Democrats. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, vowed that Senate Democrats would filibuster Gorsuch’s nomination if and when it makes it to the floor. He needs to receive at least 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, became the 41st Democrat, however, on Monday to announce his opposition to cloture and his final confirmation, ensuring that his caucus has enough support to block his nomination. 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, had warned that Republicans would pursue the nuclear option and eliminate the filibuster for Supreme Court nominations if Democrats are united against Gorsuch. 

Judge Gorsuch says he will stand up to Trump

Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee delayed a vote last Monday to advance the nomination for a week. The committee is voting on the Gorsuch nomination Monday, and then it will then go to the full Senate for consideration. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said he expects the full Senate to vote on his nomination before lawmakers leave for their two-week recess on April 7.

Some of the Democrats who took a while to reveal their positions on Gorsuch are up for re-election next year and some are freshman senators. Meanwhile, possible 2020 presidential contenders like Sens. Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris and Kirsten Gillibrand quickly announced their opposition to Gorsuch’s nomination.

Here’s the CBS News count showing how Senate Democrats plan to vote for cloture -- the procedural vote which takes 60 votes to limit Senate debate and advance his nomination -- and the final confirmation vote requiring a simple majority. 

YES (on cloture and on final confirmation) 

  1. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia 
  2. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-North Dakota
  3. Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Indiana

YES (on cloture, unclear on final confirmation)

  1. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colorado 

UNCLEAR/UNDECIDED (on cloture, final confirmation)

  1. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Maryland
  2. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine
  3. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey

NO (on cloture, on final confirmation)

  1. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin
  2. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut
  3. Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey
  4. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio
  5. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington 
  6. Sen. Tom Carper, D-Delaware
  7. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pennsylvania
  8. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware
  9. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada
  10. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois
  11. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois
  12. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California
  13. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minnesota
  14. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York
  15. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-New Hampshire
  16. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico 
  17. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-California
  18. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii
  19. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia 
  20. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota 
  21. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont
  22. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts
  23. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri
  24. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon
  25. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut 
  26. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington
  27. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida
  28. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Michigan
  29. Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island
  30. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont
  31. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii
  32. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York
  33. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire 
  34. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan
  35. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana
  36. Sen. Tom Udall, D-New Mexico
  37. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland
  38. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia
  39. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts
  40. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island
  41. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon

CBS News’ John Nolen contributed to this list.

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