Bernie Sanders Opposes Trump Supreme Court Nominee Neil Gorsuch, Promises To Vote No

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., confirmed Thursday that he planned to oppose Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, saying in a statement that the judge "brought the confirmation process to a new low."

The senator described Gorsuch's efforts to avoid revealing his stance on a number of critical issues as "a thick fog of evasion" that clouded his Senate confirmation hearing this week in Washington, D.C. Sanders' opposition was one of the first rebukes to follow Gorsuch’s hearings and could help provide a precedent for Democratic elected officials to vote "no" for the appeals judge's lifetime opportunity to serve on the highest court in the nation.

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"Americans deserve a Supreme Court justice who respects the rights of workers to be treated fairly instead of bowing to big business," Sanders said Thursday. "We cannot stand by while the court dismantles the Voting Rights Act and lets cowards in statehouses erect roadblocks to voting. We must keep campaigns free of the corrupting influence of big money and not go further down the dangerous path that began with the disastrous Citizens United ruling. We cannot risk a court that would put in jeopardy the privacy rights of all Americans and a woman's right to control her body."

Gorsuch's nomination took the spot of former President Barack Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Merrick Garland, whose confirmation hearing was successfully delayed by Republicans in the Senate long enough for Trump’s electoral upset victory in the 2016 presidential election.

The appeals judge is seen as a less conservative choice to replace former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who served on the court from 1986 until his death last year.

Still, Democrats have critiqued Gorsuch’s right-leaning views on issues like physician-assisted suicide, abortion and immigration, as well as his avoidance of critical topics Democrats presented this week during his hearings.

"I had looked forward to Judge Neil Gorsuch sharing his views on the Supreme Court’s critical role on some of the most important issues in America. Instead, he refused to answer legitimate questions and brought the confirmation process to a new low in a thick fog of evasion," Sanders continued. "After careful consideration of Judge Gorsuch’s record, I have concluded that I will not vote to confirm him to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court, and I will not support Republican efforts to change the rules to choke off debate and ram the nomination through the Senate."