Claire McCaskill announces she will not support Gorsuch, citing his 'stunning lack of humanity'
In a brutal post published Friday on Medium, Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill (Mo.) announced she would not support President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch. McCaskill's announcement came a day after The Kansas City Star published leaked audio of McCaskill warning Democratic donors that blocking Gorsuch could be detrimental to Democrats' chances in the 2018 midterm elections. McCaskill, who is up for re-election in 2018, has faced intense pressure to confirm Trump's pick, especially in her home state, where Trump won by 19 points.
McCaskill wrote Friday that while she is still "not comfortable with either choice" and "very worried about ... what the future will bring," she could not bring herself vote in favor of Gorsuch:
I cannot support Judge Gorsuch because a study of his opinions reveal a rigid ideology that always puts the little guy under the boot of corporations. He is evasive, but his body of work isn't. Whether it is a freezing truck driver or an autistic child, he has shown a stunning lack of humanity. And he has been an activist — for example, writing a dissent on a case that had been settled, in what appears to be an attempt to audition for his current nomination. [Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), via Medium]
In a direct appeal to her constituents, McCaskill argued that Gorsuch "does not reflect the promises that Donald Trump made to Missourians" to drain the swamp and "look out for the little guy." "The president who promised working people he would lift them up has nominated a judge who can't even see them," she wrote.
So far only two Democrats — Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) — have said they will support Gorsuch, despite Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's (D-N.Y.) push for Democrats to block an up-or-down vote on Trump's nominee. Republicans need the support of six more Democrats to avoid a filibuster.
Read McCaskill's full explanation for her vote on Gorusch at Medium.