DES MOINES – The Why Courts Matter Iowa coalition issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Senate changing the filibuster rules to ensure the confirmation of President Trump’s nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch, to the U.S. Supreme Court:
“Senator Grassley and Republicans in the Senate just ensured that the Supreme Court will be far more partisan and political than at any time in our country’s history, after voting to end the filibuster for Judge Gorsuch and future nominees. The so-called ‘nuclear option’ completes the partisan hatchet job on the independence of the judiciary that began last year when Grassley and Republicans engaged in unprecedented obstruction of Merrick Garland’s nomination.”
“Working side by side, President Trump, Senator Grassley, and Senate Republicans have undermined the U.S. Senate, an American institution. And their vote today undermines the independence of our highest court in the land.”
“This move to further politicize the judiciary is unfortunate, and it did not have to come to this. Republicans made a choice to strip away more than two centuries of Senate tradition. If they truly cared about bipartisanship, they would have worked across the aisle to put forward a consensus nominee who could receive the 60 votes that 25 of the past 26 justices have earned.”
“President Trump, Senator Grassley, and Senate Republicans won their vote today, but the American people lost. A judge who does not believe in protecting the constitutional rights of every citizen will be given a lifetime appointment because of a partisan vote. That’s not what we expect from our judiciary, or from our Senators, and we deserve far better.”
The Why Courts Matter Iowa coalition is focused on ensuring that the federal judiciary is representative of America’s diverse population and ending the judicial vacancy crisis so that every American can have his or her day in court. Why Courts Matter Iowa is led by Iowa Citizen Action Network, Americans for Democratic Action Iowa, Progress Iowa, and One Iowa. For more information, visit WhyCourtsMatterIowa.org.
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Thursday, US Senator for Kentucky Mitch McConnell issued a statement on the matter, saying “Let me say this to my Democratic Senate colleagues…If you truly cannot support the nomination of this eminently qualified #SCOTUS nominee, then at least allow the bipartisan majority of the Senate that supports Judge Gorsuch to take an up-or-down vote. You already deployed the ‘nuclear option’ in 2013, don’t trigger it again in 2017.”
