Civil and Human Rights Coalition Condemns Senate's Historic and Hypocritical Dismantling of Supreme Court Confirmation Process

Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement following the Senate's move to lower the 60-vote threshold to advance the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court of the United States:

"Today, the world's so-called greatest deliberative body has become the latest casualty in the right-wing onslaught on our democracy. When it became clear that President Trump's Supreme Court nominee could not meet the 60-vote threshold and should be replaced with a more consensus choice, Leader McConnell opted for a naked partisan power play by changing the rules in the middle of the game.

Republicans insisted on the 60-vote threshold for many of President Obama's lower court judicial nominations. Hypocritically, they decided today that a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land is not worthy of that same level of agreement.

Senators still have the opportunity to do the right thing. They can reject the far-right ideological agenda of Judge Gorsuch and his inability to serve as an independent check on the executive branch. While the rules of the game have changed, the Senate can still vote no and ensure the American people win."