In response to media reports that some Senate Democrats are looking to cut a deal that would allow Donald Trump’s nominee Neil Gorsuch to be confirmed to the Supreme Court, People For the American Way Executive Vice President Marge Baker issued the following statement.

“Democrats should reject any deal that allows Neil Gorsuch to be confirmed to the Supreme Court. As Senator Schumer and many, many others have pointed out, it takes 60 votes to get confirmed to the Supreme Court, and Judge Gorsuch clearly didn’t show he deserved that kind of support in his hearings this week. Instead, he hedged, bobbed and weaved to avoid answering meaningful questions about his judicial philosophy. But he can’t avoid his record, which makes clear that he’s routinely put the interests of corporations and the powerful above the rights of everyday Americans.

“If Neil Gorsuch can’t get 60 votes there’s a clear answer for that: President Trump should engage in meaningful consultation with the Senate and nominate a consensus pick, just as President Obama did when he nominated Merrick Garland.

“Democrats need to stand firm in this fight and not accept an extreme and ideological nominee now in exchange for hazy promises about the future. Anyone looking for precedent should refer to the case Charlie Brown v. Football.”

People For the American Way is a progressive advocacy organization founded to fight right-wing extremism and defend constitutional values including free expression, religious liberty, equal justice under the law, and the right to meaningfully participate in our democracy.

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