Democrats Have Enough Votes To Filibuster SCOTUS Nominee

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. 

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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