Story highlights Sanders said if Gorsuch can't get 60 votes, Trump should nominate someone else

Pence pledged Gorsuch will get through the Senate "on way or another"

Washington (CNN) Sen. Bernie Sanders called on his chamber's Republican majority on Sunday to keep existing rules allowing for the filibuster on Supreme Court nominations.

The progressive Vermont Independent's comments to CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union" came a day after Vice President Mike Pence warned Democrats against blocking Judge Neil Gorsuch's nomination to the nation's high court.

"I certainly hope that the Republicans do not change the rules in order to push Gorsuch through," Sanders said.

This week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced his intention to filibuster Gorsuch's nomination. Under Senate rules, Republicans need 60 votes to end debate on Gorsuch's nomination and then a simple 51-vote majority to confirm him, but the GOP majority could modify those rules to end debate with a simple majority -- a change known as "the nuclear option."

In remarks in West Virginia on Saturday, Pence blasted Schumer for the move and promised that the Senate would get President Donald Trump's Supreme Court pick onto the court.

Read More