After nearly a year of having an empty seat on the Supreme Court of the United States, President Donald Trump has decided on his nominee. Trump made the announcement at the White House on Tuesday night, and did so as an event comparable to a reality TV show.
Trump on SCOTUS
When Justice Antonin Scalia died last February, former President Obama nominated Merrick Garland to fill the vacancy. As they had in the seven years prior, Republicans in the Congress refused to even hold a vote of confirmation for Garland, which has left the Supreme Court with only eight justices for the last year.
Republicans said their reasoning was that Obama was a "lame-duck" president, and that the seat on the Supreme Court should be filled by the new president, in this case, Donald Trump. After Trump picked up the win on election night, many wondered who he would nominate to fill the seat. As seen on the night of January 31, the new president has made his announcement.
"Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline, and has earned bipartisan support," Pres. Trump says. pic.twitter.com/0uQXwx6lyb
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 1, 2017
Walking to the podium in the White House on Tuesday night, Donald Trump has decided on Neil Gorsuch as the next nominee for the Supreme Court of the United States.
"So was that a surprise. Was it?" Trump asked, before bringing up Gorsuch and his wife to the podium. Trump went on to praise Gorsuch, who then thanked the president before giving a traditional speech.
What you need to know about Neil Gorsuch, who is on Trump's short list for appointment to the Supreme Court https://t.co/AYt4uJp59l pic.twitter.com/QJyUNfPxRM
— POLITICO (@politico) February 1, 2017
Neil Gorsuch is a graduate from Harvard, Columbia, and Oxford, and worked as a clerk for two different Supreme Court Justices in the past, including Justice Anthony Kennedy.
In addition, while attending Harvard, one of his classmates was former President Obama. In 2006, he was nominated and confirmed with bipartisan support to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Colorado. He is known as a social conservative, who is pro-life, and sided with the defunding of Planned Parenthood in Utah, giving support to Gov.
Gary Herbert.
Next up
As Donald Trump continues to create controversy, he has now added to that list with his nomination of Neil Gorsuch. While it's believed that Democrats will attempt to block the nomination, Gorsuch is expected to be confirmed with a Congress controlled by Republicans.
