Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellGOP ramps up attacks on Democrats over talk of nixing filibuster MLB owner: It's 'very necessary' to vote for Trump Delta: Early departures saved flight attendants' jobs MORE (R-Ky.) is confident he has enough votes to trigger the "nuclear option" this week to eliminate the filibuster of Supreme Court nominees, he told reporters Tuesday.

It became clear Monday that Democrats would filibuster Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch when a group of senators announced they would oppose and vote to block him.

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Asked if he was confident there are enough GOP votes to change the Senate rules with a simple majority vote, a controversial tactic that Republicans decried in the past, McConnell answered: “Yes.”

The GOP leader pledged he would not use the nuclear option to get rid of the filibuster for legislation for as long as he is Senate leader. He said the change would apply only to Supreme Court nominations.

McConnell argued that employing the nuclear option will allow the Senate to return to its traditional practice of not filibustering judicial nominees.

He noted that when Democrats controlled the Senate in 1991, they still allowed President George H.W. Bush’s pick, Clarence Thomas, to reach a final confirmation vote, despite the highly controversial nature of his nomination.

“The practical effect of all of this is to take us back to where we were before Sen. Schumer convinced the Democrats to start routinely filibuster judges,” McConnell said, referring to Sen. Charles Schumer Chuck SchumerOvernight Health Care: Schumer calls for Azar to resign over 'chaos' in coronavirus response CNBC's Cramer calls Pelosi 'crazy Nancy' in live interview Schumer calls for Azar to resign over 'chaos' in coronavirus response MORE (D-N.Y.), who became the Senate Democratic leader in January.

Updated at 2:58 p.m.