Republicans are scrambling to come up with the 51 votes necessary to trigger the nuclear option, according to sources close to the Senate, and Democrats are scrambling to come up with a compromise that could avert disaster.
Last week, the Daily Caller reported that Sen. Mitch McConnell was wheeling and dealing behind the scenes as Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The theory was that it would be easier to launch the nuke, so to speak, if a cadre of 51 Republican and Democratic Senators, the simple majority necessary, were already in hand. (The nuclear option would eliminate the filibuster for Supreme Court nominations, which would mean the GOP could no longer use that tactic to delay or scuttle a nominee next time they’re out of a power.)
But, sources tell Heat Street, there are still some Republicans concerned that the nuclear option would have fallout—and not just on the Democrats who McConnell says are responsible for it in the first place.
Those who are gun-shy include Sen. John McCain, who has been grousing about the possibility since Sunday, and has grown only more concerned in days past, as the notion of a nuclear option has become more real. But moderate Senators like Susan Collins are also on the fence, concerned that triggering the nuclear option put them in trouble in their deeply purple home states.
McConnell told reporters today that he is “confident” that come Friday, if the Dems have not agreed to some other way to settle this, up to and including a Congress-floor mud-wrestling tournament, he has the votes to press the button.
Okay, so they didn’t say they’d have a wrestling tournament, but admit it, you were excited there for a second.
The GOP, of course, isn’t the only party weirdly skittish about Monday’s turn of events: Sen. Chuck Schumer seems to be keen on avoiding the filibuster-killer, too, telling reporters Tuesday morning that Republicans could simply consider Gorsuch a loss, and then the two parties could hash out a deal on future nominees.
Clearly, the possibility of Supreme Court Justice Charlie Sheen is getting to him.
Republicans, of course, were quick to point out that Schumer knew what could happen if his forces marshaled against an acceptable nominee, and took the risk, anyway. Now with the 60 votes required for the filibuster, he simply can’t go back.
One option reportedly on the table is a compromise that would give Gorsuch the go-ahead, with the promise that, in future SCOTUS nominations, the nuclear option would stay off the table, requiring that Democrats and Republicans work together to find an acceptable, middle-of-the-road candidate.
This is great for Republicans if, say, Justice Ginsberg keels over, but not as great if Clarence Thomas retires from the bench. The opposite is true for Democrats. And for both parties, its a roll of the dice.
Charlie Sheen, meanwhile, is probably packing up his office.
