Following the committee vote to advance Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Senate floor, and the news that he would fail to reach the 60-vote bar for the confirmation of Supreme Court nominees, People For the American Way hosted Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on a members and supporters call about what’s next in the #StopGorsuch fight.

Senator Schumer began by laying out the case against Gorsuch:

• Gorsuch sides with corporations over everyday people.
• In a time of real presidential overreach, Gorsuch is not the check on executive power we need.
• Gorsuch was chosen not through the traditional bipartisan Senate consultation but by the right-wing Federalist Society and Heritage Foundation; Gorsuch is far-right.

Senator Schumer then called on PFAW members and supporters to help stop the nuclear option:

[We need you to] call, lobby, get [other] people in Republican states to vote no on a rules change however they feel about Gorsuch. That’s really important. It’s not certain that McConnell has the votes.

He finished with this important rallying cry:

We’re going to win a lot of fights … as long as we stay allies. So I really thank you for your involvement and concern.

PFAW Executive Vice President Marge Baker and Senior Fellow Elliot Mincberg underscored Senator Schumer’s strong messages on opposing Gorsuch, stopping the nuclear option, and remaining united in both fights.

Both Baker and Mincberg spoke in great detail about the real harm that a Justice Gorsuch would cause to real people. Baker stated that this is a fight for all of us, from workers to consumers and investors to women and those fighting for the environment:

In every aspect of your life, the Court makes decisions that affect us day to day.

Mincberg went on to say:

Gorsuch generally has ruled against individuals in those [disabled student, equal pay, gender and disability discrimination] cases. The Supreme Court has a critical effect on them.

Baker and Mincberg also covered the nuclear option. Baker’s plea to PFAW members and supporters:

Do whatever you can to contact Republican senators and tell them not to invoke the nuclear option. Not to break the Senate rules. Not to change the rules in midstream … You have an option. This is not something you have to do.

When asked about how to keep GOP senators from getting away with forever altering the Senate as an institution, Mincberg answered:

They only get away with it as long as the American people let them … We have to stand up, and all of you are doing a great job at starting that.

Call moderator Dawn Huckelbridge, PFAW’s Senior Advisor on Policy, closed by stating once again that it’s those opposing Gorsuch who are the reasonable ones standing strong on the right side of history:

It’s not too much to ask to have a consensus nominee who will protect the fundamental rights of all Americans [on] the highest court in the land.

Call your senators TODAY at 1-888-877-2040–urge Republican senators to maintain the integrity of the Senate and vote against going nuclear, and ask Democratic senators to hold the line and stay strong in this fight.

Listen to the telebriefing below: