(Bloomberg) -- Senate Democrats voted to block Neil Gorsuch's U.S. Supreme Court confirmation Thursday, a move sure to prompt a "nuclear option" rule change by Republicans to put President Donald Trump's first nominee on the high court.
The 55-45 Senate vote was short of the 60 needed to advance the nomination, with all but four Democrats voting in opposition. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he has the votes to change Senate rules to end the minority party's veto power and allow Gorsuch to be confirmed Friday.
Members of both parties have warned that a unilateral rule change by Republicans will deepen the partisan divisions in the government and let presidents put more ideologically extreme justices on the court.
The "nuclear option" allows Senate rules to be revised with a simple majority vote, rather than the 67 typically required. McConnell has said he has no choice but to change Senate rules because Democrats were ignoring a tradition of allowing high court nominees to proceed to simple-majority confirmation without a filibuster.
Gorsuch, 49, has a decade of federal appeals court experience and unanimous support among Senate Republicans who say he will be a strong addition to the court for decades to come.
Democratic critics say putting him on the court will produce more decisions favoring corporations over working-class Americans. Many remain embittered about the GOP's refusal last year to consider former President Barack Obama's choice of Judge Merrick Garland for the vacancy created by the February 2016 death of Justice Antonin Scalia.
Four Democrats voted with the GOP to advance the nomination -- Michael Bennet of Colorado, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Joe Donnelly of Indiana.
To contact the reporter on this story: Laura Litvan in Washington at llitvan@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kevin Whitelaw at kwhitelaw@bloomberg.net, Laurie Asseo, Elizabeth Wasserman
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