NEW YORK – Today, President Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch, was confirmed after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s decision yesterday to invoke the ‘nuclear option’ and change the longstanding rules of the Senate to push through Supreme Court nominee, In reaction, Emma Greenman, Director of Voting Rights & Democracy at the Center for Popular Democracy released the following statement:

“This is a dark day for our democracy. Yesterday Senate Republicans blew up the long-standing rules of the Senate on a party line vote and invoked the ‘nuclear option’ so that today they install Trump’s nominee onto the Supreme Court. 

This partisan power grab came after hundreds of thousands of everyday people reached out to their Senators to demand that they stand up to protect our democracy and reject a nominee who has repeatedly ruled against the interests of working people.

Instead of responding to the concerns of the people and the forty-four Senators who stood up against moving forward with Gorsuch’s controversial nomination, Senator McConnell and every Republican Senator ignored the will of the people and broke the 200-year-old Senate rule for the sole purpose of confirming an extreme right-wing judge who has consistently sided with corporations and corporate donors over everyday people.

Today’s confirmation bestows a lifetime appointment on a judicial extremist whose record indicates that given the chance, he is poised to roll back voting rights and allow more big money to flow into our elections and drown out the voices of everyday voters.

Make no mistake, Gorsuch’s partisan confirmation is a victory for the corporate interests and the wealthy donors who worked side-by-side with Senator McConnell to get Gorsuch on the Supreme Court. This shameful episode will cast a shadow on our democracy for decades to come.”

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www.populardemocracy.org

The Center for Popular Democracy promotes equity, opportunity, and a dynamic democracy in partnership with innovative base-building organizations, organizing networks and alliances, and progressive unions across the country. CPD builds the strength and capacity of democratic organizations to envision and advance a pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial justice agenda.