Alabamians in D.C. ready to do what it takes for Neal Gorsuch to be confirmed as next Supreme Court Justice

President Trump recently nominated Neal Gorsuch for the U.S. Supreme Court, but despite his qualifications, his nomination faces an increasingly contentious road to confirmation.

For starters, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee secured a one-week delay to vote on sending his confirmation to the Senate floor. That committee vote will now happen on April 3rd and the subsequent battle on the Senate floor is expected to unfold shortly thereafter.

A simple majority can confirm a Supreme Court nominee, so the path forward seems easy enough. There are 52 Senate Republicans, all of whom will presumably vote to confirm Gorsuch. Therefore, even if all 48 of the remaining Senators (46 Democrats and 2 Independents) vote against the confirmation, the Republicans still have a simple majority. However, Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York says not so fast. He vows to filibuster Judge Gorsuch’s confirmation. Because it takes 60 votes to break a filibuster, Republicans will have a tougher mountain to climb if Schumer makes good on his threats.

It’s important to note, however, that there’s never been a successful filibuster of a U.S. Supreme Court nominee, and Huntsville, Alabama native Caroline Aderholt doesn’t think this will be the first. In fact, Aderholt, Chief of Staff for Concerned Women for America, isn’t convinced the filibuster will even happen. “I think it’s likely the Democrats are posturing to appease their base, but when it comes down to it, I’d be a surprised if they actually follow through,” she said. And as she pointed out, Democrats like Patrick Leahy from Vermont are already signaling hesitancy on the filibuster. As Leahy told the Vermont Digger, while he won’t support the Gorsuch nomination he’s “not inclined to filibuster.”

Whatever hand the Democrats ultimately play, there’s no shortage of hard feelings surrounding Gorsuch’s nomination, as Aderholt’s colleague Penny Young Nance was reminded last week. After attending the highly intense confirmation hearing and leading a rally supporting Judge Gorsuch, Nance returned to her car and experienced a close-call blowout a few minutes later. After examining her vehicle, Arlington, VA police told Nance someone had inserted over 10 screws in her tires, which could’ve easily caused a fatal crash at freeway speeds (the incident is now under investigation).

Such acts of hostility aside, CWA remains resolute in its support of Judge Gorsuch. “We’ll watch this debate each step of the way and we’re poised to activate the 500,000 women in our organization to engage their Senators on this issue, including any Republicans who may be hesitant to do what it takes to confirm Gorsuch,” Aderholt said.

That “doing what it takes” if the Democrats do filibuster is likely the so-called “nuclear option.” The requirement that it takes 60 votes to override a filibuster is only a Senate precedent, and while such precedents matter, it isn’t a Senate rule, much less a Constitutional mandate. So the Republicans can override it. Moreover, this same “nuclear option” was set in motion by the Democrats back in 2013, so one could argue they opened the door to this measure that they so vehemently oppose.

Regardless of what plays out on the Senate floor, Alabama’s Senior U.S. Senator, Richard Shelby, is ready to confirm Judge Gorsuch. As the popular Senator told Yellowhammer:

We absolutely cannot back down. Judge Gorsuch is highly qualified, well respected and committed to defending our Constitution. If the Democrats are determined to obstruct his nomination, then I believe we should use every tool available to confirm Judge Gorsuch. This is too important to the American people.

Caroline Aderholt agrees, and along with the half-million women belonging to her organization, she’s standing with Senator Shelby to support the Gorsuch nomination until he’s confirmed as the 113th Supreme Court Justice of the United States.