Schatz Statement on Republican Actions to Change Longstanding Senate Rules

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) released the following statement after Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) moved to change longstanding Senate rules to confirm Judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Today will go down in history as the day Republicans deepened the divides in the Senate, the Supreme Court, and the country. Instead of changing the nominee to reach bipartisan consensus, Republicans chose to change the rules. In doing so, they weakened one of the last bastions of bipartisanship at a time when polarization is at an all-time high. I’m deeply disappointed and concerned by the Republicans’ actions, which were pushed through in a brazen effort to further politicize the Supreme Court.

“The Senate rules exist to encourage bipartisanship, deliberation, and compromise. Now that Republicans have successfully put one of those rules on the chopping block, we will have more difficulty achieving those purposes.”

###