Senate poised to confirm Neil Gorsuch in Friday morning vote

The Republicans killed the filibuster in order to confirm Judge Neil Gorsuch. — (Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The Senate is expected to confirm President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch, in an 11:30 a.m. ET vote Friday after Republicans voted Thursday to end the filibuster. Republicans can now use their 52-48 majority to speed along Gorsuch's confirmation, joined by three Democrats: Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Joe Manchin (W.Va.), and Joe Donnelly (Ind.).

Gorsuch would restore the Supreme Court to nine members for the first time since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February 2016. Gorsuch is expected to join the judges on April 17 for the end of the 2016-2017 session, and could be a deciding vote if the court considers the constitutionality of President Trump's executive order on travel from six majority-Muslim countries, The Wall Street Journal writes.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.