Senate to vote on Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch Friday

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iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — The long, contentious battle to fill the vacancy on the nation’s highest court, which has lasted over a year in Congress could end Friday when the Senate holds a vote on whether to confirm Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.

Senate Democrats are largely upset over the GOP’s refusal to hold a vote on Merrick Garland, the nominee President Obama put forth last year, and argue that Gorsuch failed to answer key questions about his record on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals during his Senate hearing last month.

With the exception of three, Democratic senators seemed poised to vote against Gorsuch’s confirmation. The argument on the right is that Gorsuch is highly qualified and a fine replacement for the late conservative justice Antonin Scalia.

The Supreme Court saga hits its pinnacle so far when yesterday Sen. Mitch McConnell invoked the “nuclear option” to circumvent a Senate Democrats’ filibuster — effectively changing Senate rules from needing 60 votes to a 51-vote simple majority on Senate confirmation cloture, or debate.

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