Senate Confirms Gorsuch To Supreme Court

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WASHINGTON (CBSMiami) - The fight is over.

With a simple majority vote, the Senate has confirmed Judge Neil Gorsuch as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

Republicans say Gorsuch is more than qualified to take his seat on the bench.

"In those 800 opinions Judge Gorsuch has written, he's been overturned by the court he will now sit on, the Supreme Court, exactly one time," said Sen. Roy Blunt, R-MO.

Democrats worry that he's too beholden to corporate interests.

"In many cases, the Supreme Court is the last resort for everyday Americans seeking fairness and justice against forces much larger than themselves," said Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY.

Gorsuch's confirmation was effectively decided on Thursday when the Senate changed the rules ending filibusters for Supreme Court nominees. That will forever change how justices are picked.

"We have now destroyed 200 years of tradition requiring 60 votes, meaning that you have to have bipartisan support for these votes and these appointments," said Sen. John McCain, R-AZ.

Each side blames the other for the rule change which has been nicknamed the 'nuclear option'.

"Of course I wish that important aspects of this process had played out differently. It didn't have to be this way," said Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-KY.

"They had many options and they chose, unfortunately, the nuclear option," said Sen. Schumer.

Gorsuch will take his seat in time to hear the last case of the Supreme Court's current session. President Donald Trump said Thursday that he believes he could have four more appointments to the Supreme Court during his time in office.