Time for an up or down vote, same as Dems wanted with Garland.
Via Hot Air:
That’s 53 votes for cloture. If you count Pat Leahy as a yes, even though he’s not firmly committed yet, it’s 54.
Do I hear 55? CNN does:
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (North Dakota) — “As I said last year when Judge Garland was nominated — and reiterated again when Judge Gorsuch was nominated — the US Senate should have an up or down vote on any Supreme Court nominee as part of fulfilling our constitutional duty of providing advice and consent on nominees to the Supreme Court. I’m in the process of reviewing the materials (Gorsuch) submitted and testimony from his hearing before the Judiciary Committee while I continue to consider his nomination.” — Statement on 3/27/2017
Not a definitive “yes,” but there’s no obvious way Heitkamp gets from that statement to a no on cloture. If you’re looking for someone to thank for twisting Manchin’s arm, thank Mike Pence, who used his speech in West Virginia on Saturday night to mention Manchin by name as someone who can help put Gorsuch on the High Court.
Serious question: What leverage does the GOP have, really, over Joe Manchin? I know, I know — West Virginia’s one of the reddest states in the union and voted overwhelmingly for Trump, so in theory Trump could swoop in there next year and demand that Manchin be ousted. Realistically, though, Manchin’s going to end up voting with Trump and the GOP on a bunch of legislation over the next 18 months, which will put him back in the White House’s good graces no matter what he does on Gorsuch. And that’s especially true knowing that McConnell will end up nuking the filibuster if need be and pushing Gorsuch through on a party-line confirmation. How mad will Trump and West Virginia voters be at Manchin if Gorsuch ends up on the Court anyway, despite his opposition?