Senate

Gillibrand incorrectly claims no Democrats voted for Trump’s first Supreme Court nominee

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) inaccurately asserted in an interview this week that no Democratic senators voted for Justice Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation last year as she sought to underscore the importance of Democrats uniting against President Trump’s next Supreme Court nominee.

Gillibrand appeared Thursday night on CNN’s “Cuomo Prime Time,” where she argued that women’s rights, and the fate of Roe v. Wade, could be determined by who Trump nominates to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Asked if it would be enough for a nominee to state that Roe v. Wade had already been decided, Gillibrand pushed back, claiming Gorsuch had done the same thing and “no one believes him.”

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“He didn’t get a vote from one Democrat, and I believe now that we’ve seen what Gorsuch has done on this course, he’s already undermined women’s rights, he’s already undermined union rights, he’s already undermined basic civil rights in this country,” she said.

She later doubled-down on her claim, saying he was confirmed with “Republican votes.”

Gorsuch was confirmed last year by a 54-45 vote, with Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) and Joe Donnelly (Ind.) supporting him.

After Cuomo pressed Gillibrand twice on whether Democrats voted for Gorsuch, she acknowledged she may have been mistaken. 

“You might be right, Chris. But I believe this Democratic caucus will stand together because you’re really deciding whether or not you value women and you want them to have basic civil rights and civil liberties,” she said.

Gillibrand added that she believes a large enough public outcry could force a vote on the next Supreme Court justice to be delayed until after November’s midterms. The Democratic caucus appears powerless to block a vote before that, as they hold just 49 seats in the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said the Senate will vote on Trump’s nominee this fall.

Trump said Friday that he intends to name his pick for Kennedy’s replacement on July 9. He indicated he has narrowed his list of 25 candidates to about five people.

Tags Donald Trump Heidi Heitkamp Joe Donnelly Joe Manchin Kirsten Gillibrand Mitch McConnell

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