Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, the leading Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, just admitted reality: Judge Sonia Sotomayor will, almost certainly, end up on the Supreme Court.
“I will not support and I don’t think any Republican will support a filibuster or an attempt to block a vote on your nomination,” Sessions told Sotomayor during hearings Thursday.
Given the Democrats’ overwhelming majority in the Senate, there’s no way — barring some major revelation — that Republicans could stop Sotomayor from being confirmed without launching a filibuster. The senator’s statement is, then, essentially an admission of defeat.
Sessions also said he anticipates a vote before the Senate goes into its August recess — that is, right on the schedule committee Chair Sen. Pat Leahy, D-Vt., had wanted.
