Received this e-mail today from Democracy for America:
BREAKING: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer just announced that he intends to filibuster the nomination of Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court -- and he said he expects to have the 60 votes he needs to halt the nomination and potentially spark a "nuclear option" showdown.
This is a HUGE victory for the progressive grassroots, including the tens of thousands of Democracy for America members who stepped up to tell their senators that they would accept nothing short of a "no" vote on Gorsuch. But we can't count on just one tactic to beat Gorsuch -- we need to use every tool at our disposal to derail this nomination.
In the wake of the House hearing on Russian influence over the 2016 presidential election earlier this week, Elizabeth Warren took to Twitter with a clear message to her colleagues in the Senate: There should be no further action on a Supreme Court nomination until the investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia is complete.
Last night, on a live call with DFA members from around the country, Sen. Jeff Merkley announced that he agrees with Warren -- and he said that Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is on board, too.
This should be a no-brainer. Under no circumstances should we allow a president to permanently alter the makeup of the Supreme Court while under active investigation by the FBI. We need to tell the Senate to shut this process down until we have all the facts about Trump and Russia.
Stand with Elizabeth Warren and Democracy for America: Sign our petition and tell the Senate to put Trump's Supreme Court pick on hold until the investigation into his ties to Russia is complete.
There are already plenty of reasons to oppose Trump's choice for the Supreme Court seat, Neil Gorsuch. If confirmed, he would be a shill for big business and a disaster for workers, women and our environment. He will vote to overturn Roe v. Wade and supports Citizens United.
But now that FBI Director James Comey has confirmed under oath that they are explicitly looking into the possibility that Trump colluded with Russia, we have further reason to be suspicious of Trump's motives. There's no reason to allow him to change the direction of the court and the country -- especially when we still haven't gotten to the bottom of this.
Republicans have already proven that they see absolutely zero harm in letting the Supreme Court operate with only 8 justices for an extended period of time. After all, they blocked President Obama's pick for this seat for months. It can sit vacant for a little bit longer so these investigations into Trump can finish -- and for us to force Trump to pick a Supreme Court nominee who will protect our rights, rather than side with big business.
Stand with Elizabeth Warren at this critical moment and sign our petition calling on the Senate to halt the Supreme Court confirmation process until the investigation into Trump's ties to Russia is complete.
Thanks for being a part of the resistance to Donald Trump.
- Karli
Karli Wallace Thompson, Campaign Manager
Democracy for America
P.S. Interested in hearing all of last night's fantastic DFA Live Gorsuch strategy call, featuring Sen. Jeff Merkley and NARAL's Ilyse Hogue? Click here for the full YouTube recording!
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