Trump backs Senate rules change for vote on high court pick

President Trump said Thursday that Republicans should change Senate rules to ensure his nominee to the Supreme Court gets confirmed.

Saying he has pretty much decided who that nominee will be, Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity he would back the "nuclear option," which would deny Democrats the chance to block a final vote by preventing a 60-vote majority.

"We have obstructionists," Trump said, complaining that Senate Democrats already have delayed votes on at least two of his Cabinet selections, Attorney General-designate Jeff Sessions and CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

When Democrats controlled the Senate, they instituted the same rules change for federal appellate and trial courts after complaining that Republicans were blocking too many of President Barack Obama's nominees.

Without the rules change, Trump's Supreme Court nominee would need eight votes from the Democratic side to break a filibuster. That would be particularly difficult for federal appeals court Judge William Pryor of Alabama, who was blocked initially by Democrats after President George W. Bush nominated him to the 11th Circuit.

A day after saying he would announce his Supreme Court pick next Thursday, Trump told Hannity he has all but made his selection.

Aides and attorneys familiar with the process have tabbed two federal appeals court judges as favorites, Neil Gorsuch of Colorado and Thomas Hardiman of Pennsylvania, with Pryor remaining a possibility.

“I have made my decision pretty much in my mind, yes," Trump said. "That's subject to change at the last moment, but I think this will be a great choice.”

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Trump: I'll announce Supreme Court pick next Thursday

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