Florida’s senators split in a vote to confirm Colorado Appellate Court Judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., voted in step with the Republican Party to confirm Gorsuch’s nomination, joining 53 other senators to support Gorsuch.
Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., sided with 44 of his fellow Democrats to reject Gorsuch.
Gorsuch now fills the vacancy left by former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who died last year.
The newest face on the Supreme Court is expected to serve for decades, giving President and part-time Florida resident Donald Trump and the GOP a key victory in swaying the nation’s highest court in a more conservative direction.
Gorsuch’s confirmation was not met without controversy. Democrats fought tooth and nail to reject his nomination to the Supreme Court, Nelson included.
On Thursday, the Senate ended debate on by a 55-45 vote.
By Thursday afternoon, Senate Republicans had crushed the filibuster, approving the “nuclear” rule change which would allow for a simple majority to confirm Gorsuch as the country’s next Supreme Court justice, requiring only 51 votes to advance Gorsuch’s nomination.
“Deciding whether to confirm a president's nominee for the highest court in the land is a responsibility I take very seriously,” Nelson said in a statement. “Over the past few weeks, I have met with Judge Gorsuch, listened to the Judiciary Committee's hearings and reviewed his record with an open mind.”
Nelson said he was apprehensive over some of Gorsuch’s positions on voting and on political donations.
“I have real concerns with his thinking on protecting the right to vote and allowing unlimited money in political campaigns,” he said. “In addition, the judge has consistently sided with corporations over employees, as in the case of a freezing truck driver who, contrary to common sense, Judge Gorsuch would have allowed to be fired for abandoning his disabled rig during extreme weather conditions.”
Rubio, on the other hand, has previously said Gorsuch is the right move for the future of the Supreme Court.
“Judge Gorsuch is a highly qualified, mainstream jurist, which is why he was unanimously confirmed to the circuit court by the Senate in 2006,” he said. “By all accounts he has the right temperament and experience for the job, and I’m pleased to see him nominated to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Most importantly, he is committed to the principles of original intent and judicial restraint. This is critical, because too many in the federal judiciary today believe it is appropriate for judges to invent new policies and rights instead of interpreting and defending the Constitution as it is written.”
This is a breaking story. Sunshine State News will update this story as more information becomes available.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
READ MORE FROM SUNSHINE STATE NEWS
Trump Launches Military Strike on Syria, Florida Politicians React
Senate Goes 'Nuclear' as Nelson Takes a Stand Against Gorsuch
