McConnell guarantees Gorsuch will be confirmed

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. speaks with reporters following a closed-door strategy session. (AP)

Just weeks after House Speaker Paul Ryan guaranteed the Republican ObamaCare replacement bill would pass the House, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell guaranteed President Trump’s Supreme Court pick will be confirmed.

“He’ll be on the floor of the Senate next week and confirmed on Friday,” McConnell said, according to Politico. “We are optimistic that [Dems] will not be successful in keeping this good man from joining the Supreme Court real soon.”

McConnell refused to say whether or not he would employ the “nuclear” option to confirm Hon. Neil Gorsuch.

Gorsuch’s confirmation to the high court appeared at one time to be very likely. He needs 60 total votes to avoid a Senate filibuster. Republicans hold 52 seats. Ten Democrats represent states that voted for President Trump in November. But so far, not one Democrat has come out in support of Gorsuch. Republicans can “go nuclear” and change the rule to confirm Gorsuch to a simple majority.

The Trump administration is looking for a win after GOP divisions crumpled its legislation last week to replace ObamaCare, one of Trump’s major campaign promises. Republicans have also said the funding Trump requested for his border wall—another major campaign promise-- will likely not be in a spending bill that must pass next month to avoid a government shutdown.

Republicans said they will now pivot to tax cuts and other issues while they try working out their differences. And they've offered mixed messages on what comes next.

"My hope is that Democrats will quit gloating at our inability to get it done on a party-line basis and join us in fixing" Obama's law, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said. He said he didn't expect that to happen until "our Democratic friends have to start answering to the people who are being hurt by the failures of ObamaCare."

Fox News' Edmund DeMarche and The Associated Press contributed to this report