Sen. Ben Cardin said Wednesday Democrats want "adequate time" to consider Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch – and are concerned about "a lot of cases" in which he's ruled "that give many of us heartburn."
In an interview on CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront," the Maryland Democrat suggested a filibuster was always an option to block the confirmation of the conservative jurist.
"We need to carry out our constitutional responsibilities," he said, though he charged Senate Republicans' refusal to hold hearings on President Barack Obama's nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, "was outrageous."
"I must tell you, it depends on how the process unfolds… we understand how we've been treated in the past and we're very suspicious as to how the Republican leadership will treat us on this nomination."
But Cardin vowed there'd be no rush on the confirmation.
"We're careful to make sure we have adequate time that, we can understand all of his judicial philosophy that, we can see whether, in fact, he is mainstream or not," he said.
"There are a lot of cases he was involved in that give many of us heartburn," he said.
"We're asking a lot of tough questions. We're not going to rush this."
Gorsuch's best known appeals court cases were religious-rights disputes that ultimately reached the Supreme Court. Gorsuch sided with Hobby Lobby Stores Inc., whose owners objected to providing the birth-control coverage required under Obamacare.
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