WASHINGTON — Democratic Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin says he supports a “truce” in the fight between Senate Republicans and Democrats over Trump Supreme Court nomination Neil Gorsuch.
When asked by The Daily Caller Thursday about recent polls showing a majority of Americans supporting the confirmation, Cardin replied:
“Well you know, I’ve always felt that we should not be filibustering. Having said that, this process started years ago when the Republicans blocked President Obama’s appointments to the district– D.C. Court of Appeals and Circuit Court of Appeals. And it was not the individual. It was just the fact that they weren’t going to let him fill these vacancies which was outrageous.”
Cardin went on to say, “That was an abuse of the powers of the Senate leadership — the Republican leadership. That caused Senator Reid to take action, so that we could act on President Obama’s appointments that the Republicans then blocked and the Supreme Court appointment for a full year,” referencing Obama Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.
He added, “That’s unconscionable. I’m for a truce here, but it can’t be one sided, and that’s why I say if we’re going to have a compromise is going to have to be worked out between the two leaders.”
Republicans, however, argue they did not filibuster any of President Obama’s Supreme Court appointments and did not hold a hearing for Judge Garland,because Obama appointed the judge in the last year of his final term in office — something Senate Democrats demanded George H. W. Bush not do in 1992 during his final year in office.
Two red state Democrats — West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp — announced Thursday they would vote for Gorsuch.
Other red state Democrats — including Montana Sen. Joe Tester and Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill — have all told reporters they will state how they will vote in the coming days.
