Gov. John Hickenlooper on Wednesday said he expects Democrats in Congress to carefully investigate Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.

The governor’s remarks come as some pundits question whether it would be wise for Democrats to block the well-regarded 49-year-old native Coloradan, who presided over federal cases in Denver for a decade.

“This dwarfs most of the other appointments he’s made,” Hickenlooper said. “He’s 49 years old, he has the potential to be on the court for several decades.”

President Trump on Wednesday backed use of a so-called “nuclear option,” in which controlling Republicans would change Senate rules to confirm Gorsuch with 51 votes, instead of the 60 that have traditionally been required to move past a filibuster.

Republicans hold 52 seats in the Senate, though it’s possible that they can convince several Democrats to join them in confirming Gorsuch. One target is Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet.

A Bennet spokeswoman said, “As a fellow Coloradan, Michael congratulates Judge Gorsuch and his family. Michael takes seriously the Senate’s responsibility to advise and consent on Supreme Court nominations. He intends to review Judge Gorsuch’s record carefully in the coming weeks.”

Gorsuch, a conservative, is considered to be an intelligent legal thinker, and not the ideologue some feared from other potential Trump Supreme Court nominees, which is why observers say the choice makes it more difficult for Democrats to defy Trump.

But Democrats are emboldened after Republicans refused to hold hearings for President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland. It’s been more than 10 months since Obama announced Garland as his choice to replace the late justice Antonin Scalia, who served as a conservative voice on the bench.

“There’s a certain amount of pride that he’s a Coloradan, but I think, especially after what happened to Merrick Garland, a very capable candidate who waited a year and never got one hearing, I will expect that Democrats are going to look very, very closely at his (Gorsuch’s) judicial record and scrutinize it to make sure that he brings a level of impartiality,” Hickenlooper said.

Republicans wanted to wait out the election before allowing Obama’s nominee to move forward. They said the election was in part a referendum on the direction of the Supreme Court. With a new president, Republicans say now is the time to move froward.

The Trump administration is hoping to confirm the Colorado U.S. Court of Appeals judge by early April, which would allow Gorsuch to weigh in on cases before the high court’s term ends in late June.

“He’s going to get a vote, I don’t think people will stand in the way of him getting an up or down vote,” said Hickenlooper, who does not have a relationship with Gorsuch and has not spoken about the nomination with Colorado Sens. Bennet and Cory Gardner, a Republican.

“The president calibrated his choice to find someone who has gone to the best schools, has clerked in the Supreme Court, has done all the things that really do historically designate someone as a top legal thinker … Does that mean that’s going to diminish their level of scrutiny and the level of investigation that they’re going to put into his background? I doubt it.”

Gardner met with Gorsuch on Wednesday.

“He is an exceptional jurist who will bring an additional Western perspective to the Supreme Court, and I’m confident his opinions will have a positive impact on this country for generations to come,” Gardner said. “I urge my colleagues to expediently confirm this mainstream jurist who has proven that he understands the importance of putting personal beliefs aside and interpreting the law as written.”