a great judge, he would be a great justice. i feel that it is very dishonest if they go back on that. yes, if we end up with gridlock that we have had in washington for the last -- longer than eight years. if we end up with that gridlock, i would say, if you can, mitch, go nuclear. that would be a shame if a man of this quality was caught up in the web. i would say, it is up to mitch. i would say go for it. thank you. zocor -- the so-called nuclear option calls for changing the filibuster rules. senateleaders in the took to the floor of the u.s. senate to talk about president

trump's pick of the western appeals court, judge neil gorsuch to the supreme court. president. >> the majority leader. >> last night president trump announced an outstanding .ppointee to the supreme court judge gorsuch has a significant legacy to live up to as the nominee with the state left vacant by the loss of justice scalia. i'm confident that is present at ground and long record of service will prepare him well for the task at hand. like justice scalia, judge gorsuch understands the constitutional limit of his authority. in the sense the judge's duty is to apply the law evenhandedly without bias toward one body or another. he understands that his role as a judge is to interpret the law

not impose his own viewpoint or political leanings. he has been recognized from people on both sides of the aisle as a consistent principled -- consistent, principled and fair judge. he has a solid resume with degrees from harvard and columbia, a phd and legal philosophy from oxford and just about every honor, award and scholarship you can possibly imagine. when he graduated from law school, judge gorsuch did not one supreme for court justice, he clerked for two. anthony kennedy, a reagan appointee, and byron white who was nominated by jfk. judge gorsuch received a unanimously well-qualified rating by the american bar association when he was nominated to his current position on the court of

appeals. he was confirmed without any votes in opposition. that is right, madam president, not a siegel democrat opposed -- not a single democrat opposed judge gorsuch, not senator barack obama, hillary clinton, joe biden or ted kennedy. in fact not a single one of the democrats that still serve with us opposed him, including the ranking members of the judiciary committee, senator schumer. in the coming days, i hope and expect that all senate colleagues will give him their consideration, just as we did for newly elected -- newly nominated presidents clinton and obama. this is the judge who is known for deciding cases based on how the law is actually written, not how he wishes it were written. even when it relates -- leads to

results that conflict with his personal political police -- believes. here is how judge gorsuch put it himself. every resultikes he reaches is very likely a bad judge. reaching for results he prefers rather than of the law compels. some of our colleagues see the role of a judge very differently. the mustard presidential debates, our former colleague, city thatclinton -- -- stated that a supreme court justice should look more favorably on certain political constituencies than others. the job of the supreme court to "stand on the

side." what, or perhaps to, -- who they're going to stand for. the problem with that approach is -- it is great if you are the party that the judge likes. it is not great if you are the other guy. believed this to his core. he was a champion of the constitution who was guided by important principles, like applying the law equally to all, giving every litigant a fair rulings based on the actual meaning of the constitution and our laws, not what you and your preferred political constituency which they met. -- wish they meant.

-- record of judge for such judge gorsuch shows the annual continue the right of fair and impartial justice. despite his sterling credentials and bipartisan support, so on the left have decided to oppose judge for such before he was even nominated -- judge gorsuch before he was even nominated. we know what they will say about him as well. it is the same thing they have been saying about every republican nominee for more than four years -- decades. they said gerald ford's nominee aled anul stevens, "reve extraordinary lack of sensitivity to the problems women faced." they said that reagan's nominee was "sexist, and would be a

disaster for women." and they said george w. bush's a threat tod be women, minorities, and other disadvantaged groups. it is not surprising that they would say it again this time. what is disappointing is that democrats in the senate would adopt the same rhetoric. -- thes not even dry on dry on judgeven nomination when democrats were claiming he had displayed indexes towards women's rights. -- injustice toward women's rights. this right belongs to the american people.

when it became vacant in the middle of a contentious presidential election, we follow the rules set down by vice president joe biden and democratic leaders senator schumer, which said supreme inrt vacancies arriving -- the midst of a presidential action cannot see kids -- should not be considered until the ends.gn and dust and -- along been consistent all , that the next president, democratic or republican, should select the next nominee for the supreme court. i maintained that you could -- , even when many thought the

president would be hillary clinton. but the season is over and we now have a president to -- who nominated a highly qualified candidate to fill that seat. are giving the new president's fair consideration and an up or down vote, just as we did for past presidents of both parties. >> i rise today on a matter of great importance to everyone in this body and everyone in america. the future of the supreme court. last night, the president nominated judge neil gorsuch. we in the senate have a to examinenal duty his record robustly, exhaustively, and comprehensively. we need to revise its consent if we see fit -- and