Lawmakers need to come together and use the 60-vote rule when it comes to Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch in order to protect the integrity of the Senate, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin said Wednesday.
"Gorsuch, no matter whether you like the man or not, this is a good, decent human being," the Democratic senator told Fox News' "Fox & Friends."Manchin has yet to make his own decision on the vote. "We should not eviscerate this person as a human being. If you agree or disagree with some of his findings, that's one thing. But this is a good, moral standing family person who likes his country. So I'm going to look at it from that standpoint and make a decision after that."
Manchin said he is most concerned about Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's threat to use the nuclear option and pass the nomination with 52 votes.
"This person is basically like Merrick Garland," said Manchin, referring to former President Barack Obama's nominee to replace the late Antonin Scalia. "He should have got an up-or-down vote. This gentleman deserves an up-or-down vote. That's the way I look at it. But I'm there to protect the 60-vote rule."
Former Sen. Harry Reid and his opinions on the nuclear option was "absolutely dead wrong," said Manchin, "and I'm the only one still standing that voted against what he did. But two wrongs don't make a right, and if my colleagues would take that off the table, maybe it would move us together."
Manchin also thanked President Donald Trump for standing up for coal mines and coal mining.
"He took away the unnecessary rulings," said Manchin. "We did not throw the environmental concerns out the window. We did not throw the baby out with the bathwater. The EPA, the Army Corps of Engineers, they're back in control. The thing about the Obama administration, which I was upset about, they added another layer [of regulations]."
He said he would like to add one more thing, and that would be to help make phone calls to his colleagues in favor of the Miners Protection Act, which guarantees pensions and retirements, as well as healthcare benefits.
"Those are the miners of the past, and their widows depend on it," Manchin said.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.