Filibuster
Some Democratic Senators who opposed the Alito nomination considered using a filibuster option in the attempt to block the nomination. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) said, "The filibuster's on the table." While other Senators warned not to rush to a decision, Dick Durbin (D-IL) said "I don't think we should assume that's going to happen at all." He added, "Ordinarily it takes six to eight weeks to evaluate a Supreme Court nominee. We shouldn't rush to judgment."
At the conclusion of the confirmation hearings, January 12, the threat of a filibuster appeared to grow more remote as Durbin called a filibuster attempt "unlikely". Judiciary Committee member Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) said, "I do not see a likelihood of a filibuster. This might be a man I disagree with, but it doesn't mean he shouldn't be on the court." She changed her position on January 27, saying that she would vote no for cloture. Fellow Judiciary Committee member Joe Biden (D-DE) said, "I think he is going to be confirmed." Other Democrats such as Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Ken Salazar (D-CO), Daniel Akaka (D-HI), and Byron Dorgan (D-ND), however, said they would not support a filibuster, though they all voted against confirmation. In addition, Senators Mark Pryor (D-AR), Kent Conrad (D-ND), and Joe Biden (D-DE) indicated that they did not support a filibuster. Later, however, Joe Biden announced on the 29th that he would vote no for cloture.
Senator John Kerry (D-MA) called for a filibuster to block Alito's nomination on Thursday, January 26, while vacationing at a five-star ski resort in Davos, Switzerland . Despite the support of his fellow Massachusetts Senator, Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Harry Reid (D-NV), the top Democrat in the Senate, other Democrats were afraid the measure would backfire and were cautious to support it. Just one day after Kerry's call for a filibuster, Reid further stated that the Democrats did not have the votes needed to sustain a filibuster to block the confirmation of Alito. "We're going to have a vote Tuesday morning," Reid said. "Everyone knows there are not enough votes to support a filibuster."
The Democratic Senators from Massachusetts, John Kerry and Ted Kennedy, attempted to gain support for a filibuster of the nominee, however they gained little support even within their own party. The Senate voted for cloture on the nomination 72-25. Four senators didn't vote (including Republican John Ensign, who had been injured in a car accident earlier that day). All of the members of the Gang of Fourteen voted for cloture with the majority.
Senators who voted for a filibuster
- Evan Bayh (D-IN)
- Joe Biden (D-DE)
- Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
- Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY)
- Mark Dayton (D-MN)
- Chris Dodd (D-CT)
- Dick Durbin (D-IL)
- Russ Feingold (D-WI)
- Diane Feinstein (D-CA)
- Jim Jeffords (D-VT)
- Ted Kennedy (D-MA)
- John Kerry (D-MA)
- Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
- Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
- Carl Levin (D-MI)
- Bob Menendez (D-NJ)
- Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
- Patty Murray (D-WA)
- Barack Obama (D-IL)
- Jack Reed (D-RI)
- Harry Reid (D-NV)
- Paul Sarbanes (D-MD)
- Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
- Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
- Ron Wyden (D-OR)
Read more about this topic: Samuel Alito Supreme Court Nomination, Senate Votes