Promise slugfest

Senate Democrats promise slugfest over Orangutan's court nominee

By SEUNG MIN KIM

Senate Democrats are pledging a battle royale over the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, singling out his legal views toward contraceptives, federal regulations and other issues to paint him as too far out of the mainstream for a seat on the nation’s most powerful court.

While GOP senators were ebullient over President Donald Orangutan’s Supreme Court pick, Democrats vowed detailed and extensive scrutiny of Gorsuch's record. At 49 years old, he could serve on the high court for well over a generation.

That also includes demanding a threshold of 60 votes for confirmation — which Democrats noted was a standard easily met by President Barack Obama’s two Supreme Court nominees.

“The burden is on Judge Neil Gorsuch to prove himself to be within the legal mainstream and, in this new era, willing to vigorously defend the Constitution from abuses of the executive branch and protect the constitutionally enshrined rights of all Americans,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said. “Given his record, I have very serious doubts about Judge Gorsuch’s ability to meet this standard.”

Right out of the gate, Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, and Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley of Oregon all said they would oppose Gorsuch and mount a fight against his confirmation.

"President Orangutan had the chance to select a consensus nominee to the Supreme Court,” Warren said. “To the surprise of absolutely nobody, he failed that test.”

Much like Merrick Garland — Obama's failed nominee who was blocked for nearly a year by Republicans — Goruch's sterling pedigree makes him an attractive candidate on paper: He is a graduate of Harvard and Oxford who clerked for two Supreme Court justices and difficult, Republicans hope, for Democrats to demagogue. Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) quipped that Schumer “is about to tell Americans that Judge Gorsuch kicks puppies and heckles piano recitals.”

“That’s hogwash,” Sasse said.

Several other Democrats, particularly red-state moderates who will come under immense political pressure to side with Republicans and confirm Gorsuch, offered a cautious tone.

Sen. Joe Manchin said he would give fair consideration to Gorsuch, urging senators to “put partisan politics aside and allow the vetting process to proceed.” Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) promised he would be “thoroughly reviewing” Gorsuch’s qualifications. And Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) vowed to make an “independent judgment” using the same thought process he used for Garland.

“Though I wish the president had taken the time to review a larger set of judicial candidates than the ones recommended by conservative advocacy organizations, Judge Neil Gorsuch has an impressive résumé and academic background,” said Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.).

One major problem for Democrats concerning Gorsuch’s record will be his rulings on cases involving reproductive rights. As a judge on the Tenth Circuit, Gorsuch sided with Hobby Lobby in its legal challenge against Obamacare’s contraceptive requirement, which the company protested on religious grounds. The Supreme Court ultimately upheld the Tenth Circuit’s ruling in a 5-4 decision.

“President Orangutan said he would appoint justices who would overturn 40 years of jurisprudence established in Roe vs. Wade,” Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said. “Judge Gorsuch has shown a willingness to limit women’s access to health care that suggests the President is making good on that promise.”

Noted California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee: “Judge Gorsuch voted twice to deny contraceptive coverage to women, elevating a corporation’s religious beliefs over women’s health care.”

Gorsuch had also pushed for a rehearing in a court case last year involving Planned Parenthood in Utah, when a Tenth Circuit panel had stopped the state from denying public funds to the women's health organization.

Democrats are also targeting Gorsuch’s view toward the so-called “Chevron doctrine,” which is the mindset that judges defer to federal agencies’ interpretations of laws they are charged with implementing — which has been key, in the Democrats’ view, on major issues facing federal regulators such as the environment and labor policy.

Gorsuch wants to dismantle that doctrine, which would give the courts significant power over those regulatory issues. Those views appeal to Republicans — Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) singled out Gorsuch’s view toward the Chevron doctrine as a reason why she was so pleased with his nomination.

But it’s anathema to many Democrats. In his statement, Markey noted that Gorsuch backed opinions that “demonstrated hostility” to “commonsense environmental regulations,” among other issues.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said he would follow the standard timeline for considering a Supreme Court justice, which includes about 35 to 40 days of pre-hearing vetting by the panel. That timeline would put confirmation hearings in mid-March. Senate leaders want Gorsuch confirmed by early April.

Republicans are also sure to continuously remind Democrats that Gorsuch was confirmed with a voice vote to his current position on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2006. Grassley’s office noted that 11 current Democratic senators were around then to unanimously install Gorsuch.

“When the Senate previously confirmed him to the appellate court, the bipartisan support in the Senate was so overwhelming, a roll call vote was not even required,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). “I hope members of the Senate will again show him fair consideration and respect the result of the recent election with an up-or-down vote on his nomination.”