BREAKING RANK

Joe Donnelly Becomes Third Democrat to Back Gorsuch

The Indiana Democrat joins Joe Manchin and Heidi Heitkamp.

Indiana Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly announced on Sunday that he will vote to confirm Neil Gorsuch to be the next Supreme Court justice. Donnelly is the third Democrat to publicly support Gorsuch, following West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp—all red-state Democrats. “After meeting with Judge Gorsuch, conducting a thorough review of his record, and closely following his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, I believe that he is a qualified jurist who will base his decisions on his understanding of the law and is well-respected among his peers,” Donnelly said in a statement, urging a 60-vote threshold for confirmation. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Gorsuch will be confirmed one way or another this coming week, which indicates he may invoke the so-called “nuclear option” if Democrats try to filibuster the nomination. This would mean the threshold lowers to 51 votes, a simple majority.