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Will Bob Casey try to block Trump's Supreme Court pick?

WASHINGTON -- On most of President Trump's biggest moves, Sen. Bob Casey has been firm and clear in opposing him.

But on perhaps Trump's most significant step yet, Casey is hedging.

The Pennsylvania Democrat has been careful in his statements on Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, voicing concerns about the judge's record but avoiding a clear statement on how he will vote. Unlike Trump cabinet nominees, who have won confirmation by relying on the Republican majority in the Senate, Gorsuch needs 60 votes, which means converting at least eight Democrats.

Casey is on the front line of that fight, with conservative and liberal activists targeting him and nine other Democratic senators from  states Trump won and who will be up for reelection next year. While Casey has aggressively denounced some of Trump's most controversial cabinet picks, his vote wasn't needed for their confirmations. This time his decision might have more impact.

But the senator was circumspect after meeting with Gorsuch at his Senate office in Washington last week. He declined to talk to reporters, instead issuing a statement in which he promised to continue reviewing the judge's record and to monitor his confirmation hearing, set for March 20.

Asked for an interview that day -- and again Wednesday -- aides said Casey was unavailable.

In an interview earlier this month, Casey said that when it comes to Supreme Court nominees, "I take a good bit of time to review their record," citing the long-lasting impact of lifetime appointments for judges whose decisions have vast reach. Anyone with that influence, he argued, should be able to win more than a bare majority: "You're going to have decades of impact on hundreds and hundreds of millions of people's lives, and you can't get 60 votes?"

In Harrisburg on Wednesday, conservative groups urged Casey to become one of those 60 votes.

"The American people elected Donald Trump with this being one of the main issues that they were concerned with," U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta (R., Pa.), one of Trump's closest allies in Pennsylvania, said at a news conference. He said voters want to see government work. "There couldn't be an easier play to begin working together than confirming Judge Gorsuch."

The Judicial Crisis Network, a conservative group that focuses on judicial appointments, arranged the event and has run television ads in five states targeting Democrats, though not in Pennsylvania.

"He has a choice to make: Is he going to align himself with Chuck Schumer and the radical wing of the Democratic Party?" Carrie Severino, the group's chief counsel, said, referring to the Senate minority leader. "Or is he going to acknowledge that a majority of his state voted for Trump?"

The National Republican Senatorial Committee, which hopes to help defeat Casey next year, ran a radio ad in the Harrisburg area saying Gorsuch would protect the Second Amendment, and urging listeners to call Casey "to protect your rights."

Liberals are applying pressure from the other side. They are still seething over Trump's victory, and they see the Gorsuch nomination as a rare chance to block the president. Many lawmakers remain furious over how the GOP last year treated Judge Merrick Garland, whom then-President Barack Obama nominated to fill the same seat.

"Pennsylvanians saw a Supreme Court seat stolen. I think it's fair to say all bets are off, and concerned citizens are fired up," wrote Christine Stone, co-chair of the left-leaning Why Courts Matter-Pennsylvania.

Casey, in the interview this month, said he told Vice President Pence personally that the Garland fight would be a weight on this decision, and that he doubted there would be bipartisan cooperation on judges any time soon. "It's going to be difficult," he said.

Two of the 10 Democratic senators running next year in states Trump won have already pledged to vote against Gorsuch: Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.

In New Jersey, Sen. Cory A. Booker has also vowed to oppose Gorsuch while fellow Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez has said he is looking forward to reviewing the nominee's work.

Why Courts Matter has urged Casey and Sen. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.) to join the opposition, and is planning rallies, a petition drive, and other events to attack Gorsuch's record. (Toomey has said he will support Gorsuch, barring a bombshell.)

"We are confident that Sen. Casey will come to the same conclusion we have: that Judge Gorsuch is not mainstream, but rather is an extreme nominee," Stone wrote in an email.

Democratic resistance, however, may not be enough. Some Republicans are agitating to change Senate rules to allow confirmation to a Supreme Court seat with only a majority, instead of 60 votes, as Democrats did for other nominations. That might allow them to confirm Gorsuch without any Democrats on board.

Casey has raised questions about Gorsuch, potentially laying the groundwork for a "no" vote.

After he sat with the judge last week, he issued a statement saying the current Supreme Court "has ruled overwhelmingly in favor of big corporations and Judge Gorsuch's judicial record suggests he may continue that trend." He also critiqued Gorsuch's decisions on cases that involve protections for people with disabilities.

But his statements left room to vote either way.