Democrats garner enough votes to filibuster Gorsuch

Democrats have earned enough votes to successfully filibuster President Trump's Supreme Court pick, Neil Gorsuch. Sens. Chris Coons of Delaware, Dianne Feinstein of California, Mark Warner of Virginia, and Patrick Leahy of Vermont said Monday that they will not support Trump's nominee, tipping Democrats to the 41 votes required for a filibuster, CNN reports.

"I've often said the Senate at its best and can and should be the conscience of the nation, but I must first and foremost vote my conscience," said Leahy, one of the opposing Democrats. "I will not and can not support advancing this nomination."

Two Democrats and one independent still remain undecided about how they will vote. Four Democrats so far have said they would vote with Republicans, but the GOP will now remain short of the 60 votes needed to avoid the filibuster.

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Republican leaders indicated that they would change Senate rules on confirming Supreme Court justices if necessary, ditching the filibuster and allowing final votes to be called with a simple majority, a change that would alter the way justices are confirmed in the future.