The Senate confirmed Neil Gorsuch to become an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, giving the President a major victory, while fulfilling his promise to put a conservative in the mould of the late Antonin Scalia on the Court.
The final vote was 54 to 45. Only two Democrats voted for Gorsuch. With Gorsuch on the Court, conservatives again hold a 5-4 majority.
Democrats fought the nomination with all the legislative and parliamentary tools at their disposal. But their tactics resulted in Republicans changing Senate rules — the so-called “nuclear option” — on Thursday, eliminating the use of a filibuster for judicial nominees.
