WASHINGTON -- Five more Democrats said Friday that they will vote against Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch and will support a filibuster against him.
Sens. Kamala Harris of California, Patty Murray of Washington, and Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, both of Rhode Island, said they believe that the Denver-based appeals court judge has ruled too often against workers and in favor of corporations. Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico said Gorsuch had failed to convince him that he'd be an independent voice against President Donald Trump, who nominated Gorsuch in January.
"The stakes don't get any higher," Harris said in a piece in the San Francisco Chronicle. "Some argue that if a nominee has a stellar legal resume, he or she is qualified to sit on the bench and our job is done. I disagree. As U.S. senators, we have an obligation to also examine a nominee's legal approach and ask whether he or she considers the impact of those decisions on our society and the daily lives of our people."
Murray said she also is opposing Gorsuch because of "chaos" in Trump's administration, pointing to his refugee and travel ban blocked by federal courts and an FBI investigation into the Trump campaign's connections with Russia.
[U.S. SUPREME COURT: More on Gorsuch, current justices, voting relationships]
She said those issues have led her to conclude that "I cannot trust that President Trump is acting in the best interest of our country or our democracy and that I cannot support moving forward with his choice for the court."
Udall echoed those concerns and said Gorsuch failed to win him over when the two met.
Gorsuch "failed to answer questions that are critical for me -- his position on the rights of working mothers, whether women can choose their own health care decisions, LGBTQ [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer] rights and dark money in our elections, to name a few," Udall said.
The Senate Judiciary Committee held four days of confirmation hearings this week, including two days questioning Gorsuch. He refused to give his personal views on most any issue, including abortion, campaign finance and others that Democrats questioned him on.
In response to the Democratic criticism, Gorsuch repeatedly said he has often ruled for the "little guy" over corporations. He said several cases in which he has ruled for corporations over workers "don't represent the body of my work."
Gorsuch also stressed he'd be an independent voice, saying that "no man is above the law."
The Democrats join several other colleagues who have said they will vote against Gorsuch, including five Democrats who announced their opposition Thursday.
A Section on 03/25/2017