Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) speaks at a news conference to discuss the committee's probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 29, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic Senator Mark Warner on Monday announced opposition to President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, meaning Democrats potentially have the votes needed to block a U.S. Senate confirmation vote to give Neil Gorsuch the lifetime job.

Warner’s announcement put the number of Democrats opposing Gorsuch at 41, the tally needed to use a procedural hurdle called a filibuster that requires 60 votes to allow a confirmation vote in the 100-seat Senate. It remained unclear, however, if all 41 senators who have voiced opposition would back a filibuster.

Republicans control the Senate 52-48. If Democrats amass the 41 votes to block a confirmation vote that Senate Republicans have planned for Friday, the Republicans would then be expected to try to change the chamber’s long-standing rules and allow confirmation by a simple majority, a move backed by Trump that is sometimes called the “nuclear option.”