WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today released the following statement after the U.S. Senate failed to obtain the 60 vote threshold needed for the cloture vote on U.S. Supreme Court nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch:

“It is important for the American people and American democracy that the United States Senate be allowed to vote on Judge Neil Gorsuch's nomination to the United States Supreme Court.  Unfortunately, my friends on the Democratic side of the aisle decided to filibuster to prevent the Senate from voting.  To break their filibuster we had to modify the rules of the Senate.  I did not want to vote to change the rules, but I had no choice.  On Friday, we will now have the up or down vote that this highly qualified nominee deserves,” said Sen. Kennedy.  “Judge Gorsuch is painstaking in his application of the law to the facts before him.  He is an intellectual, not an ideologue.  He is a mainstream judge, not a politician.  He understands that a judge's role is to interpret the law, not make it.  It's on that basis that he has my support."

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