Following President Donald Trump's nomination of Neil Gorsuch for Supreme Court justice, Elizabeth Warren published a lengthy Facebook post that ended with her concluding she'd oppose his confirmation. Just as the GOP blocked Merrick Garland, former President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Democrats will surely create some roadblocks for Gorsuch, whose opinions could severely tilt Supreme Court decisions towards the right.
Though Majority House Speaker Paul Ryan has expressed he's "confident my colleagues in the Senate will confirm Judge Gorsuch," he shouldn't be so sure. Along with several other Republican leaders, Ryan opposed Garland for months on end, effectively helping to block his confirmation. Why wouldn't Democrats do the same? As Ryan said about blocking Garland's confirmation, "Under our Constitution, the president has every right to make this nomination, and the Senate has every right not to confirm a nominee."
Warren isn't the only senator who's not putting up with Trump's pick. On Tuesday evening during a CNN town hall event, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi referred to Trump's Supreme Court nomination, saying, "Elections have ramifications, and here is a living, breathing example of it." She went on to call Gorsuch's nomination "a very bad decision, well outside the mainstream of American legal thought." Based on her Facebook post, Warren seems to agree.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Gorsuch has indeed sided with big business interests over consumers' interests in several decisions, as Warren stated. One of those instances occurred when Gorsuch supported Hobby Lobby in 2014, agreeing that businesses had the right to refuse employees birth control coverage under the ACA for religious reasons. And Warren isn't alone in her research. Democratic Super PAC American Bridge released a 78-page booklet of research on the nominee to The Hill following Trump's announcement. On page 15, the PAC points out that Gorsuch ruled against employees who claimed they were allegedly misinformed about their retirement benefits. Gorsuch had decided that the company, which had made changes to its retirement plan, didn't intentionally fail to explain the changes. Instead, he ruled that the mistake "wasn't significant."
Similarly to Warren, Sanders released a statement saying he looks forward to vigorously questioning Gorsuch on a number of issues that could affect Americans. He stressed:
The stakes are very high. It is imperative that a new justice be prepared to defend the rights of all Americans, not just the wealthy and large corporations. Our next Supreme Court justice must vote to protect American democracy and keep campaigns free of the corrupting influence of big money, treat workers fairly, safeguard liberties for women and minorities, protect religious freedom and to safeguard the privacy rights of citizens.
Trump claimed on Twitter that Gorsuch is "respected by all," but judging by Democrats' overwhelmingly negative opinion of him, it's clear that's not the case. His confirmation will surely meet obstacles.
