Missouri’s constitutional originalists urged Senate Democrats in Washington D.C. to confirm Neil Gorsuch as the next justice of the Supreme Court in a press conference last week.
Rep. Paul Curtman, one of the General Assembly’s more libertarian voices, specifically called on Missouri’s U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill to allow a vote on the judge, who Curtman said was “in Missouri Republicans urge a vote on the mold of the late Justice Antonin Scalia,” the justice Gorsuch would replace.
“Judge Gorsuch has told Americans in his rulings and when he was nominated to the Supreme Court the role of a judge is to interpret the law, not impose their own policy preferences, priorities, or ideologies,” Curtman said Friday. “Sen. McCaskill can show Missourians she understands the message Missouri voters sent last November by voting to confirm Judge Gorsuch.”
Joined @PaulCurtman, @SpeakerTimJones & @BevEhlen today to urge Senate Democrats to allow up-or-down vote on Judge Gorsuch. #ConfirmGorsuch pic.twitter.com/95KQnlKrY9
— Jim Talent (@JimTalent) February 24, 2017
In a statement, the senator said she had met with Gorsuch already.
“I was glad for the opportunity to sit down with Judge Gorsuch and hear more about his record and his views, and I’m looking forward to seeing his confirmation hearing,” McCaskill said.
President Donald Trump selected Gorsuch, a Denver-based U.S. Court of Appeals judge, to fill in the vacancy left by Scalia. The seat on the nation’s highest bench stayed empty for nearly a year after Scalia died in February 2016. Former President Barack Obama’s choice for the position, Judge Merrick Garland, was not considered or confirmed by Senate Republicans.
Senate Democrats now find themselves in a difficult position politically regardless of whether they attempt to filibuster Gorsuch’s nomination. They hold the minority in both chambers but still caused some consternation among conservatives by showing strong opposition to some of Trump’s cabinet nominees. Betsy DeVos, the newly confirmed Secretary of Education, needed a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence to take over the position, and Hardee’s CEO Andrew Puzder withdrew from contention as the Secretary of Labor due to a campaign from liberal advocacy groups, labor unions, and other Democratically-affiliated organizations.
Several Republican leaders within the state also urged McCaskill vote to approve DeVos and EPA head Scott Pruitt, but she voted against both of those nominees.
Former Missouri House Speaker Tim Jones and Concerned Women for America of Missouri State Director Bev Ehlen also called on McCaskill and other Senate leaders to confirm Gorsuch. The man who lost to McCaskill in 2006 added his own compliments for Gorsuch.
“Judge Neil Gorsuch has demonstrated a deep respect and adherence to our Constitution in his rulings and is a magnificent choice for our nation’s highest court,” Former U.S. Sen. Jim Talent said. “Senate Democrats should not stand in the way of an up-or- down vote on Judge Gorsuch.”
