Democrats have another reason to emphasize any refusal by Judge Gorsuch to give unrestrained answers. They hope to be able to persuade at least a few Republicans that legitimate reasons beyond politics exist for objecting to the nominee, possibly dissuading them from joining any leadership move to eliminate the judicial filibuster if it comes to that.

Republicans are all in on Judge Gorsuch. And they anticipate that at least eight Democrats — led by those facing re-election in 10 states won by Mr. Trump — will eventually succumb to his appeal or intense political pressure to get on board.

“Judge Gorsuch deserves fair consideration by those who serve in this body, and he deserves an up-or-down vote here on the Senate floor,” said Senator Jeff L. Flake, an Arizona Republican who showed some discomfort with his party’s treatment of Judge Garland. “He should be confirmed overwhelmingly, and I am confident that he will be.”

Multiple Senate Republicans, starting with Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, have made it very clear they intend to see Judge Gorsuch on the Supreme Court and will do what they must to make that a reality. That is a not-so-subtle way of saying they will change Senate procedure to overcome a filibuster. They believe such a move is eminently justifiable, given that Senate Democrats did so in 2013 to eliminate the 60-vote filibuster against nominees except those for the Supreme Court.

Some Democrats believe that Republicans are posturing in an effort to intimidate the opposition and don’t yet have the votes to end the filibuster. They also worry their party could face a severe political reprisal from its energized liberal backers if they do not do whatever they can to oppose Judge Gorsuch no matter the consequences.

Other Democrats privately take a different view. They say the party shouldn’t test the limits on the Gorsuch nomination since his approval won’t change the ideological makeup of the court from when Justice Scalia served. They believe Democrats should hold their fire in the expectation of another vacancy. Then, if Mr. Trump goes with a staunch conservative, dig in against that person and argue that Republicans are instituting a partisan rules change to drastically reshape the court.