GOP Senators Signal They Will Not Block Sotomayor; Full Senate Vote Expected By Aug. 7

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Litigation / Medical Malpractice;  Abortion
Article Date: 20 Jul 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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Senate Republicans on Thursday said that they do not plan to block a vote on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, the Washington Post reports. Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) told Sotomayor that he would not support any effort to filibuster her nomination, meaning that she would need a simple majority of 50 votes to be confirmed. Because Democrats hold 60 votes in the Senate, Sessions' comments effectively end "any possible suspense over her fate," according to the Post (Kane et al., Washington Post, 7/17). Sessions said, "I will not support and I don't think any member of this side will support a filibuster or any attempt to block a vote on your nomination," adding, "I look forward to you getting that vote before we recess in August." According to CQ Politics, Sessions' statement that Republicans will not filibuster "is bound to rile conservative activists," who have urged GOP senators to delay the vote to allow more time to build opposition.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) also signaled that he would vote for Sotomayor's confirmation (Perine, CQ Politics, 7/16). He said, "We'll see what your future holds, but I think it's going to be pretty bright" (Bendavid, "Washington Wire," Wall Street Journal, 7/16). Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) said that although he will not support Sotomayor's confirmation, he will not filibuster the vote (Rushing, The Hill, 7/16). Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) told Sotomayor, "Thank you for giving us such a cordial response, and I am mightily impressed" (Washington Post, 7/17).

Voting Timeline Unclear

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said he would schedule a committee vote on the nomination for July 21. It remains unclear whether committee Republicans will delay the vote until July 28, as they are permitted to do under committee rules. Sessions called the July 21 vote "unrealistic," adding that there "will be a number of questions submitted to the nominee that take some time" (CQ Politics, 7/16).

A party-line vote on the nomination does not seem likely, as a number of committee Republicans have praised Sotomayor and signaled that they will vote to confirm her, the AP/Boston Globe reports (Holland, AP/Boston Globe, 7/17). The committee's vote serves as a recommendation to the full Senate, which likely will hold its final roll-call vote on the nomination by Aug. 7 (Washington Post, 7/17). Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Thursday said he wants a floor vote on Sotomayor "as quickly as possible" (Brady, Roll Call, 7/16).

During the hearing on Thursday, Sotomayor reiterated that she would consider each case individually and declined to state her specific views on abortion rights. In response to Coburn, she said, "Would you want a ... nominee who came in here and said, 'I agree with you. This is unconstitutional,' before I had a case before me?" She added, "I don't know that that's a justice that I can be" (Kiely/Biskupic, USA Today, 7/17). According to the New York Times, "Some observers thought they detected her tipping her hand on abortion rights when she said Supreme Court precedents required abortion restrictions to make exceptions for a woman's health" (Savage, New York Times, 7/17).

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