Pence called Gorsuch "one of the most mainstream, accepted and exceptionally qualified" nominees in the country's history. | Getty Pence pressures Democrats to not block Gorsuch for Supreme Court

The battle lines sharpened Saturday over the looming confirmation fight of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, as Vice President Mike Pence pressured Senate Democrats not to obstruct the nomination of a judge who was confirmed unanimously to his current place on the federal bench.

During a speech to the Federalist Society in Philadelphia, Pence called Gorsuch, who President Donald Trump nominated Tuesday to fill Antonin Scalia's seat on the Supreme Court, "one of the most mainstream, accepted and exceptionally qualified" nominees in the country's history.


But just as Pence was speaking of his and Trump's respect for the "timeless values" of the constitution, Democrats were raising the stakes in the wake of the president's attack Saturday morning on a sitting federal judge.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warned that Trump’s attack on the Seattle judge who blocked his travel ban would harden Democratic resistance to Gorsuch's confirmation to the Supreme Court.

“The President's attack on Judge James Robart, a Bush appointee who passed with 99 votes, shows a disdain for an independent judiciary that doesn't always bend to his wishes and a continued lack of respect for the Constitution, making it more important that the Supreme Court serve as an independent check on the administration,” Schumer said in a statement.

He added, “With each action testing the Constitution, and each personal attack on a judge, President Trump raises the bar even higher for Judge Gorsuch's nomination to serve on the Supreme Court. His ability to be an independent check will be front and center throughout the confirmation process.”

Trump on Saturday morning lashed out at Robart, who delivered a severe legal blow to Trump’s executive order limiting travel to the U.S. by citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries.

“The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!” Trump tweeted.

It’s not the first time Trump has attacked a judge overseeing litigation that directly impacted him. During the presidential campaign, Trump went after U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, the Indiana-born judge overseeing Trump University lawsuits, saying Curiel had “an absolute conflict” in presiding over the litigation because he was “of Mexican heritage.”

Republicans, holding just 52 seats in the Senate, need eight Democrats to help them reach the 60-vote threshold required to confirm Gorsuch to the Supreme Court without changing filibuster rules.

Democrats are still smarting about Senate Republicans' refusal to grant a hearing to Judge Merrick Garland, President Obama's appointee to fill the seat that's been empty for nearly a year since Scalia's death. Moreover, they're feeling the pressure from an angry base, galvanized in opposition to Trump's early actions as president, to fight the new administration at every turn.