If it comes to a showdown in the U.S. Senate next week to confirm Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, count Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey among those prepared to change the chamber’s rules.

The Pennsylvania lawmaker is supporting Gorsuch, whose nomination is expected to advance to the Senate floor next week.

But Democrats, including Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, have largely opposed the nominee and Democratic senators are preparing to demand a procedural step that would require 60 votes. Many remain frustrated Republicans refused to vote last year on Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama ‘s nominee to replace late Justice Antonin Scalia.

It looks increasingly unlikely that Gorsuch will draw support from at least eight Democrats, which he would need to clear that procedural step and reach a confirmation vote.

If that happens, Senate Republican leaders could decide to change the chamber’s rules so that Supreme Court picks only need a simple majority, or 51 votes, to be confirmed.

“We have to do what we have to do to confirm Neil Gorsuch,” Toomey told reporters Wednesday. “We are not going to go for four or eight years with a dwindling number of justices on the Supreme Court because some people can’t accept the outcome of the last election.”

He added on changing the rules: “If that’s what it takes, then that’s what it takes.”

The seemingly technical move would be another step in a larger shift in the dynamics of the Senate. The chamber’s cumbersome rules are intended to encourage reaching consensus across the political aisle.

Altering those rules would give the majority more power, regardless of which party holds it in the future. If Democrats win back the Senate majority and the White House, they also would be able to confirm court nominees with just more than half of senators.

It wouldn’t be the first time such a change has been made.

Asked about what such a change to Senate rules would mean going forward, Toomey said it would be “very unfortunate,” before adding that Democrats did so in 2013 when they eliminated the 60-vote threshold for lower court nominations.

“He is the most reasonable and qualified person that we could possibly find, and it’s pretty hard to refute that,” Toomey said of Gorsuch. “And still they refuse. So we don’t really have much choice.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote Monday on advancing Gorsuch’s nomination to the floor, setting the stage for the conflict to play out later that week before Congress breaks for a two-week recess.

First Published: March 30, 2017, 4:10 a.m.