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AZUZ: This is expected to be a momentous week for the U.S. Senate. The Constitution gives it the power to confirm or deny the president's Supreme Court nominees and President Donald Trump has nominated Federal Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill a vacancy on the high court. The 49-year-old judge has a lot of support among Republicans.
SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R), IOWA: The judge has an incredibly legal mind and a humility that keeps him well-grounded. He's easily cleared every hurdle in place of him, in front of him for this position. It leaves me then very stunned why there's this talk about a filibuster. It's quite clear that if he isn't qualified, then nobody is.
AZUZ: You heard Senator Grassley mentioned a filibuster. That's a tool senators can use to try to block a nominee, and though three Senate Democrats have said they'll support Judge Gorsuch, most of them are supporting a filibuster against him.
SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: Our job is to assess whether the nominee will protect the legal and constitutional rights of all Americans, and whether the nominee recognizes the humanity and justice required when evaluating the cases before him. Unfortunately, based on Judge Gorsuch's record at the Department of Justice, his tenure on the bench, his appearance before the Senate, and has written questions for the record, I cannot support this nomination.
AZUZ: There's another reason why many Democrats opposed Gorsuch. The vacancy on the Supreme Court opened up early last year when Justice Antonin Scalia died. But though then-President Barack Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland to replace Scalia, Republican leaders in the Senate did not give Judge Garland a hearing. They kept the high court vacancy opened in the election year, saying the next president should appoint Scalia's replacement. Democrats say that was a type of filibuster.
So, what happens now?
Republicans are expected to make a rule change in the Senate. It's known as the nuclear option and it makes it easier for a majority party to overcome a filibuster. Usually, that takes 60 votes. The controversial nuclear option lowers that number to 51, a simple majority.
This rule change was first used by Democrats in 2013 when they controlled the Senate. They used it to get President Obama's federal judges and cabinet nominees approved. If Republicans used it to get Judge Gorsuch approved, it'd be the first time the rule was employed to confirm a Supreme Court nominee.
