Zach Gibson / AP
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017, during the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee confirmation hearing for Housing and Urban Development Secretary-designate Ben Carson.
Published Friday, March 31, 2017 | 11:16 a.m.
Updated Friday, March 31, 2017 | 1:02 p.m.
CARSON CITY, Nev. — A spokesman for Neil Gorsuch on Friday denied U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto's claim that the appellate judge being considered for the nation's highest court has declined to meet with her.
Gorsuch was more than willing and in fact was the first to request to meet with Nevada's Democratic senator, Ron Bonjean said.
"In early February, the White House nominations team reached out to Senator Cortez Masto requesting a meeting be scheduled," Bonjean said in a written statement. "Both sides have been trying to find a mutually agreeable date that would work."
The conservative judge has met with nearly 80 of the nation's 100 senators since President Donald Trump nominated him for the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 31, according to Bonjean and former New Hampshire Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte.
"No one has been rebuffed," Ayotte, now working at the White House, told reporters Friday. "I don't think that that characterization is accurate."
Cortez Masto announced Thursday she would oppose Gorsuch's confirmation largely based on his record. But she added that she has asked "for several weeks" to meet with him one-on-one and "he has refused to honor this request."
"The U.S. Constitution has entrusted the Senate with the role of advising the President on the highest court of the land," Cortez Masto said in a written statement. "In refusing to meet with me, he has disrespected our nation's founding principles and pillars core to our democratic institutions."
Gorsuch gave Masto the run-around, the senator's spokesman, Rey Benitez, said. As of Friday, she's no longer interested in meeting.
"Even if he all of a sudden has the time to come meet the senator, she's going to vote against his confirmation," Benitez said.
Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat, also announced Thursday that she plans to vote against Gorsuch's confirmation and criticized him for not sitting down with her.
Scheduling in every senator was tough while Gorsuch prepared for and attended congressional hearings, Ayotte said.
The Senate is expected to vote on Gorsuch's confirmation next week.
The court vacancy has lasted 13 months.
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