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Joe Donnelly listens to testimony from East Chicago residents during a visit on Feb. 17, 2017.
Lauren Chapman/IPBU.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) announced Sunday he’ll vote for President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee.
Donnelly becomes the third Democrat to back Judge Neil Gorsuch.
In a statement, Donnelly said after meeting with Gorsuch, he believes the Trump nominee is qualified and well respected.
Although Donnelly says he’s disappointed President Barack Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, wasn’t considered by the GOP-controlled Senate last year, the Hoosier Democrat says, “I can only vote on the nominee that comes to the … floor.”
Conservative groups, including the Republican National Committee, have run ads in Indiana aimed at Donnelly, urging him to vote for Gorsuch. Donnelly is up for reelection in 2018.
In Donnelly’s statement, he adds a caveat that while he supports Gorsuch, he also thinks the Senate should keep its 60-vote threshold to confirm him. 60 votes are needed to break a filibuster, which Democratic leadership has vowed to use.
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