Supporters of President Trump have taken to Twitter to express their support of Mitch McConnell’s decision to invoke the so-called “nuclear option” on Thursday morning, ensuring Judge Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation to succeed the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court.
The Senate Majority Leader’s move to eliminate the supermajority requirement for Supreme Court cloture votes allows them to end floor debate by a simply majority of 51 votes instead of 60. The move puts Senate Republicans on an open path to easily approve the SCOTUS nominee without the need of “yes” votes from Democrats after Dems used the filibuster to delay a vote on Gorsuch.
The news of McConnell’s actions delighted Trump supporters on Twitter, who filled the #NuclearOption hashtag with images of mushroom clouds.
The Senate, pictured: #NuclearOption pic.twitter.com/PKJF3j9oXf
— Frankly Vain (@franklyvain) April 6, 2017
???? TIME 4 #NuclearOption ????
Dems #BlockGorsuch#EpicFail ??’? #holdthefloor DELAY
NEXT UP#confirmgorsuch 4 #SCOTUS
Link⤵https://t.co/fK8cW1FGjg pic.twitter.com/KCBTb4IHX7— ????TRUMP????CHICK???? (@JustMy_NameHere) April 6, 2017
#NuclearOption Get’er Done pic.twitter.com/jsbJ6js2f4
— Happy Gringo (@jeff_gringo) April 6, 2017
CONFIRM GORSUCH#NuclearOption??’???’? pic.twitter.com/1EjkN1o5VW
— RMILLA (@rachaelmilla) April 6, 2017
Other conservatives mockingly thanked former Democrat Senate leader Harry Reid, who used the nuclear option four years ago to stop Republicans from obstructing Barack Obama’s cabinet picks at the start of his second term. Though the supermajority cloture rules remained in place for SCOTUS picks, McConnell used Reid’s move as precedent for invoking the nuclear option today.
“If you truly cannot support the nomination of this eminently qualified nominee, then at least allow the bipartisan majority of the Senate that supports Gorsuch to take an up-or-down vote,” McConnell said on the Senate floor Thursday “You already deployed the nuclear option in 2013. Don’t trigger it again in 2017.”
Thank you Harry Reid!!! #NuclearOption #ReidOption @RealJamesWoods pic.twitter.com/qsNpqDtjGJ
— Noid (@Deezhohn) April 6, 2017
Don’t like the #NuclearOption?
Blame Harry Reid. pic.twitter.com/Mxe1xVuG3c— Scott McClellan (@McClellanJSU) April 6, 2017
Cartoonists, meanwhile, put their ink and pencils to work to give their take on today’s news.
I don’t understand why changing a dumb rule by Harry Reid and dumb Dems is the Nuclear Option. Just change the rule. #tcot #ccot #gop #maga pic.twitter.com/58k7t839bl
— John K Stahl (@JohnKStahlUSA) March 27, 2017
@politico @SenSchumer Um… No you cannot stop the nuclear option… 51 votes. pic.twitter.com/dneT8VWwMv
— Ambie Tweets ??’? (@AmbieTweets) March 26, 2017
Senate GOPers have stars in their eyes about #NuclearOption, Charlie Daniel of @knoxnews says https://t.co/Z3wXe2evOQ. But in the long term? pic.twitter.com/oYSlKiMnNz
— Linda Dono (@LindaDono) April 6, 2017
