Trump picks his Supreme Court nominee: Neil Gorsuch
Trump wants to fill Scalia’s seat with a former clerk of Justice Kennedy.
President Donald Trump announced that Judge Neil Gorsuch will be his nominee to be the next justice on the Supreme Court.
Gorsuch, who is 49 years old, currently sits on the US Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, based in Denver. He was nominated to that appeals court by President George W. Bush in 2006.
Trump said his selection process "may be the most transparent judicial selection process in history," since he provided a list of candidates during his campaign and pledged to make his selection from that list.
"Millions of voters said this was the single most important issue to them when they voted for me as president," said Trump, during a television broadcast of his announcement. "I am a man of my word. I will do as I say." He continued:
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The qualifications of Judge Gorsuch are beyond dispute. He is a man our country needs badly to ensure the rule of law, and the rule of justice... I only hope both Democrats and Republicans can come together, for once, for the good of the country.
The decision was announced after a highly unusual, reality-television-style twist: Trump summoned two of the leading contenders, Gorsuch and Judge Thomas Hardiman, to Washington before the selection. Judge Gorsuch had more supporters, but Judge Hardiman was reportedly favored by Trump's sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, who is a federal judge.
If confirmed, Gorsuch will fill the seat that's been vacant for nearly a year, since Justice Antonin Scalia died in February. Senate Republicans refused to consider former President Barack Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland, saying that the decision should wait until after the November election.
During the campaign, Trump said he intended to pick a nominee in the mold of Scalia, and he reiterated that pledge tonight. Gorsuch's selection will shift the court decisively to the right, for years or even decades to come. On many key economic and social issues, the current Supreme Court currently has a 4-4 divide between liberal-leaning and conservative-leaning justices.
"Depending on their age, a justice can be active for 50 years," said Trump. "His or her decisions can last a century or more, and can often be permanent."
Gorsuch took the podium and spoke briefly after Trump.
"I pledge that if I am confirmed, I will do all my powers permit to be a faithful servant of the Constitution and laws of this country," he said.
Ars will have a more in-depth report on Gorsuch's record tomorrow.
