Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn is urging his Democratic colleagues to follow Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy's example when considering Judge Neil Gorsuch's Supreme Court nomination.
Leahy said Monday he was "not inclined to filibuster" Gorsuch's bid. Later on Monday afternoon, the Democrats' former Senate Judiciary Committee chairman appeared to walk back his remarks and said a filibuster may still come.
Cornyn, a Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said if Senate Democratic leadership follows through on the threat of a filibuster it would be "unprecedented." Cornyn did not try to persuade Democrats to support the Supreme Court nominee in remarks on the floor Tuesday, but he pushed for an up-or-down vote on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals'judge's high court nomination.
"We're going to give our Democratic colleagues a chance to do the right thing and to vote, at some point, to cut off debate and then have an up-or-down vote to confirm the nominee," Cornyn said Tuesday. "I can only hope that cooler heads will prevail and others in the Democratic caucus will listen to Senator Leahy and others who say they're not inclined to filibuster. Whether they decide to vote against the nominee is entirely up to them, but denying the majority in the Senate a chance to vote to confirm the nominee is just simply unacceptable, and it will not stand."
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