--- description: Republicans just changed Senate rules to push a vote on Neil Gorsuch, after Democrats filibustered the Supreme Court nominee. title: Republicans Trigger Nuclear Option on Neil Gorsuch Confirmation image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9d190fbadeb145ff/6988c1cc4e9ee725e7a0a637/neil-gorsuch-supreme-court-filibuster-nuclear-option-congress.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Supreme Court](/tag/supreme-court/) ## Supreme Court Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Republicans Trigger Nuclear Option on Neil Gorsuch Confirmation  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 9:49 AM CUTPublished: Apr 6, 2017 3:22 PM CUT  Judge Neil Gorsuch is sworn in on the first day of his Supreme Court confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill March 20, 2017 in Washington, D.C. Judge Neil Gorsuch is sworn in on the first day of his Supreme Court confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill March 20, 2017 in Washington, D.C.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 9:49 AM CUTPublished: Apr 6, 2017 3:22 PM CUT Republicans changed Senate rules Thursday to push a vote on Neil Gorsuch, after Democrats pulled off the [first-ever partisan filibuster](http://time.com/4659403/neil-gorsuch-filibuster-abe-fortas/ "undefined") of a Supreme Court nominee. Republicans triggered the so-called [nuclear option](http://time.com/4723610/neil-gorsuch-supreme-court-nuclear-option-filibuster/ "undefined") by a vote of 52 to 48 Thursday afternoon. The rule change means Supreme Court nominees will now be confirmed by a simple majority, without ever needing to garner 60 votes for cloture, which ends debate. The parliamentary maneuver came after Democrats were able to filibuster and deny cloture on Gorsuch’s nomination Thursday morning. The final vote count was 55 in favor of cloture, 45 against it. “This will be the first, and last, partisan filibuster of a Supreme Court nomination,” Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared Thursday. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer attempted various stall tactics on the nuclear option vote, including calling for votes on delaying Gorsuch’s confirmation vote until April 24 and on adjourning the Senate until 5 pm Eastern. Neither measure passed, and the delay did not change the ultimate outcome. The mood was gloomy among many senators of both parties after the votes, who fear that the rule change will remove an incentive for bipartisanship in the future and lead to more ideologically extreme justices. It was “one of my saddest days in the Senate,” [tweeted](https://twitter.com/SenBlumenthal/status/850036201184743425 "undefined") Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, adding that the nuclear option “will have rippling repercussions for decades to come.” “The dark deed is done,” [tweeted](https://twitter.com/SenJeffMerkley/status/850028285841027072 "undefined") Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley. “McConnell has just put a knife into the heart of our We the People republic.” “Bad day for democracy,” said Republican Sen. John McCain, [Politico reports](http://www.politico.com/story/2017/04/senate-neil-gorsuch-nuclear-option-236937 "undefined"). The events on the Senate floor were dramatic, but not surprising. Democrats [sewed up the votes](http://time.com/4723223/democrats-filibuster-neil-gorsuch-supreme-court/ "undefined") for a successful filibuster on Monday, so both parties have spent the week jockeying for position in the media and preparing for Thursday’s showdown. Preventing cloture was a temporary win for Democrats. But Republicans know the events this week may actually [help them](http://time.com/4720478/neil-gorsuch-filibuster-republicans-reaction/ "undefined") more, because going nuclear now will ensure easier confirmations for any future Supreme Court vacancies under President Trump. Now, after 30 more hours of debate, Gorsuch will be confirmed by a simple majority vote Friday. But the contentious battle to get him there will have changed future confirmation processes [forever](http://time.com/4725387/neil-gorsuch-confirmation-filibuster-nuclear-option/ "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4728558/neil-gorsuch-filibuster-senate-confirmation-vote/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4728558/neil-gorsuch-filibuster-senate-confirmation-vote/"},"headline":"Republicans Trigger Nuclear Option on Neil Gorsuch Confirmation","datePublished":"2017-04-06T15:22:30.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T09:49:01.000Z","description":"Republicans just changed Senate rules to push a vote on Neil Gorsuch, after Democrats filibustered the Supreme Court nominee.","url":"https://time.com/4728558/neil-gorsuch-filibuster-senate-confirmation-vote/","keywords":["Supreme Court","Congress","Neil Gorsuch"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9d190fbadeb145ff/6988c1cc4e9ee725e7a0a637/neil-gorsuch-supreme-court-filibuster-nuclear-option-congress.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9d190fbadeb145ff/6988c1cc4e9ee725e7a0a637/neil-gorsuch-supreme-court-filibuster-nuclear-option-congress.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Senate Holds Confirmation Hearing For Supreme Court Nominee Neil Gorsuch","caption":"Senate Holds Confirmation Hearing For Supreme Court Nominee Neil Gorsuch","creditText":"Justin Sullivan—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/supreme-court/","name":"Supreme Court"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4728558/neil-gorsuch-filibuster-senate-confirmation-vote/","name":"Republicans Trigger Nuclear Option on Neil Gorsuch Confirmation"}}]}] ```