SCOTUS Odds: Will Gorsuch Be Approved?
Neil Gorsuch, Donald Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, is currently undergoing his confirmation hearing with the Senate. And from what we’ve seen so far, it’s going to be quite a showdown.
I previewed Gorsuch’s chances back in early February when Trump first announced his pick, and now it’s time revise them. We still aren’t sure if the Democrats will choose to filibuster (probably), or whether the Republicans will opt for the “nuclear option” (probably not), but we do have some more information to work with now.
After the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, the Republicans refused to even hold a hearing for Barack Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, and effectively denied him the seat without having to cast a single vote. Understandably, this has left the Democrats furious. They view the vacant Supreme Court spot as a stolen seat, and some Senators have vowed to vote against any nominee other than Merrick Garland.
Democratic Senators are facing enormous pressure from their base to resist everything and anything put forward by Trump. But with a senate minority, that’s going to be tough. One option is the filibuster, which the Democrats are seriously considering.
In order to break a filibuster, the Republicans will need 60 votes. They only have 52 seats in the Senate, so they will have to convince eight Democrats to jump the fence. If they can’t, they’ll have to opt for what is being called the “nuclear option”. This will put an end to the filibuster and the Republicans will only need a simple majority to confirm Gorsuch (which they have).
Unsurprisingly, Trump is a huge proponent of the nuclear option, but Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell is a little more hesitant. If they can, the Republicans would prefer to confirm Gorsuch the old fashioned way.
The odds are looking pretty good for Gorsuch right now. Even if the Democrats decide to oppose him unanimously, the Republicans still have the means to confirm him.
Supreme Court Prop Odds
Odds Neil Gorsuch is the next Supreme Court justice: 3/17
Odds Gorsuch receives 60+ votes in the Senate: 1/1
Odds of a filibuster: 2/3
Odds the ‘nuclear option’ is used: 7/3
O/U on amount of Democratic votes Gorsuch receives: 6.5
Don Aguero is a man of many talents, writing about nearly anything you can put odds to. Don has been writing for SportsBettingDime since 2015, covering sports, entertainment and politics. You name it, he's covered it! He is also a steadfast West Ham fan, and has learned to embrace that suffering.
