Neil Gorsuch Supreme Court nomination
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On January 31, 2017, soon after taking office,
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
, a
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
, nominated
Neil Gorsuch Neil McGill Gorsuch ( ; born August 29, 1967) is an American lawyer and judge who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on January 31, 2017, and has served since ...
for
Associate Justice Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some sta ...
of the
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
to succeed Antonin Scalia, who had died almost one year earlier. Then-president
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
, a
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
, nominated
Merrick Garland Merrick Brian Garland (born November 13, 1952) is an American lawyer and jurist serving since March 2021 as the 86th United States attorney general. He previously served as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of ...
to succeed Scalia on March 16, 2016, but the Republican-controlled
U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...
did not vote on the nomination.
Majority leader In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.
Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and retired attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky and the Senate minority leader since 2021. Currently in his seventh term, McConne ...
declared that as the
presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...
cycle had already commenced, it made the appointment of the next justice a political issue to be decided by voters. The
Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations ...
refused to consider the Garland nomination, thus keeping the vacancy open through the end of Obama's presidency on January 20, 2017. When nominated, Gorsuch was a sitting judge on the
United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (in case citations, 10th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Colorado * District of Kansas * Dist ...
, a position to which he had been appointed by President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
in 2006. Democratic Senators launched a
filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking out ...
against Gorsuch's nomination to block his confirmation. However, Republicans invoked the "
nuclear option In the United States Senate, the nuclear option is a parliamentary procedure that allows the Senate to override a standing rule by a simple majority, avoiding the two-thirds supermajority normally required to invoke cloture on a resolution to ...
", eliminating the filibuster with respect to Supreme Court nominees. The Senate ultimately confirmed Gorsuch's nomination to the Supreme Court by a 54–45 vote on April 7, 2017 (all Republicans and three Democrats voted in his favor). Ten days after his confirmation, Gorsuch heard his first case as the 101st associate justice of the Court, in Anthony Perry vs. Merit Systems Protection Board.


Background

On February 13, 2016,
Associate Justice Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some sta ...
Antonin Scalia died unexpectedly. His death triggered a protracted political battle that did not end until the Senate confirmed Gorsuch's nomination in April 2017. Political commentators at the time widely recognized Scalia as one of the most
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
members of the Court, and noted that President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
had an opportunity to name a more
liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
replacement, a move that could alter the Court's ideological balance for many years into the future. The president ultimately
nominated A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * ...
Merrick Garland Merrick Brian Garland (born November 13, 1952) is an American lawyer and jurist serving since March 2021 as the 86th United States attorney general. He previously served as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of ...
on March 16, 2016. His confirmation would have given Democratic appointees a majority on the Supreme Court for the first time since the 1970s. Republican Senate leaders, citing the fact that the vacancy arose during Obama's final year as president, declared that the Senate would not even consider a nomination from the president. Garland's nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress, 293 days after it had been submitted to the Senate. As a result of the nomination's defeat, Scalia's seat remained vacant until after
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
's January 20, 2017
presidential inauguration A presidential inauguration is a ceremonial event centered on the formal transition of a new president into office, usually in democracies where this official has been elected. Frequently, this involves the swearing of an oath of office. Examples o ...
. Only the 15th time in U.S. Senate history that a Supreme Court nomination had lapsed at the end of a session of Congress, many Democrats reacted angrily to the Senate's refusal to consider Garland, with Senator Jeff Merkley describing the vacant seat as a "stolen seat". However, Republicans such as Senator
Chuck Grassley Charles Ernest Grassley (born September 17, 1933) is an American politician serving as the president pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate, and the senior United States senator from Iowa, having held the seat since 1981. In 2022, h ...
argued that the Senate was within its rights to refuse to consider a nominee until the inauguration of a new president.


Nomination


Potential candidates

During the 2016 presidential campaign, while Garland remained before the Senate, Trump released two lists of potential nominees. On May 18, 2016, Trump released a short list of eleven judges for nomination to the Scalia vacancy. In September 2016, Trump released a second list of ten possible nominees, this time including three minorities. Both lists were assembled by the
Federalist Society The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (abbreviated as FedSoc) is an American conservative and libertarian legal organization that advocates for a textualist and originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Headquarter ...
and the
Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (abbreviated to Heritage) is an American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. that is primarily geared toward public policy. The foundation took a leading role in the conservative movement during the preside ...
.
Leonard Leo Leonard A. Leo (born 1965) is an American lawyer and conservative legal activist. He was the longtime vice president of the Federalist Society and is currently, along with Steven G. Calabresi, the co-chairman of the organization's board of direc ...
of the Federalist Society played a major role in the creation of the second list, which included Gorsuch. The Trump administration also considered nominating
Brett Kavanaugh Brett Michael Kavanaugh ( ; born February 12, 1965) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on July 9, 2018, and has served since ...
and
Amy Coney Barrett Amy Vivian Coney Barrett (born January 28, 1972) is an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. The fifth woman to serve on the court, she was nominated by President Donald Trump and has served since October 27, 2020. ...
to the seat, who were later nominated and confirmed after the retirement of
Anthony Kennedy Anthony McLeod Kennedy (born July 23, 1936) is an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1988 until his retirement in 2018. He was nominated to the court in 1987 by Presid ...
in 2018 and the death of
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; ; March 15, 1933September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by President ...
in 2020, respectively. After winning the presidential election, Trump and White House Counsel
Don McGahn Donald Francis McGahn II (; born June 16, 1968) is an American lawyer who served as White House Counsel for U.S. President Donald Trump, from the day of Trump's inauguration through October 17, 2018, when McGahn resigned. Previously, McGahn serv ...
interviewed four individuals for the Supreme Court opening, all of whom had appeared on one of the two previously-released lists. The four individuals were federal appellate judges Tom Hardiman, Bill Pryor and Neil Gorsuch, as well as federal district judge
Amul Thapar Amul Roger Thapar (born April 29, 1969) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He is a former United States district judge of the United States Di ...
, all appointed to the federal bench by President George W. Bush While Pryor had been seen by many as the early front-runner due to the backing of Attorney General
Jeff Sessions Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (born December 24, 1946) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 84th United States Attorney General from 2017 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as United States ...
, many
evangelicals Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
expressed resistance to him, and the final decision ultimately came down to Gorsuch or Hardiman. Hardiman had the support of Trump's sister, Judge
Maryanne Trump Barry Maryanne Trump Barry (born April 5, 1937) is an American attorney and a retired United States federal judge. She became an Assistant United States Attorney in 1974, and was first appointed to the United States District Court for the District o ...
, but Trump instead chose to nominate Gorsuch.


Announcement

President Trump announced the nomination of Gorsuch on January 31, 2017. The nomination was formally received by the Senate on February 1, 2017, and was subsequently referred to the
Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations ...
. At the time of his nomination, Gorsuch was described as solidly conservative, but likely to be confirmed without much difficulty. Richard Primus of ''Politico'' described Gorsuch as "Scalia 2.0" due to ideological similarities, and a report prepared by Lee Epstein, Andrew Martin, and Kevin Quinn predicted that Gorsuch would be a "reliable conservative" similar to Scalia. According to ''The Washington Post'', Trump considered rescinding Gorsuch's nomination, venting angrily to advisers after his Supreme Court pick was critical of the president's escalating attacks on the federal judiciary in a private February meeting with Democratic legislators.


Responses to the nomination

Norm Eisen Norman L. Eisen (born November 11, 1960) is an American attorney, author, and former diplomat. He is a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, a CNN legal analyst, and the co-founder and executive chair of the States U ...
, Special Counsel for Ethics and Government Reform in the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
and
Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
to the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
, endorsed Gorsuch. Eisen was a classmate of both Gorsuch and Obama at Harvard Law.
Neal Katyal Neal Kumar Katyal (born March 12, 1970) is an American lawyer and academic. He is a partner at Hogan Lovells and the Paul and Patricia Saunders Professor of National Security Law at Georgetown University Law Center. During the Obama administrati ...
, who served as Acting
Solicitor General of the United States The solicitor general of the United States is the fourth-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. Elizabeth Prelogar has been serving in the role since October 28, 2021. The United States solicitor general represent ...
during the Obama Administration and law professor at
Georgetown University Law Center The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...
, endorsed Gorsuch for approval to the Supreme Court, and introduced him on the first day of the hearings. The
National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...
, the
National Shooting Sports Foundation The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) is an American national trade association for the firearms industry that is based in Newtown, Connecticut. Formed in 1961, the organization has more than 8,000 members: firearms manufacturers, distri ...
, the
Second Amendment Foundation The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) is a United States nonprofit organization that supports gun rights. Founded in 1974 by Alan Gottlieb and headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, SAF publishes gun rights magazines and public education materials ...
and other gun rights groups endorsed Gorsuch, while
Americans for Responsible Solutions Americans for Responsible Solutions (ARS) was a United States non-profit organization and super PAC that supports gun control. The group's stated goal was "to encourage elected officials to stand up for solutions to prevent gun violence and pro ...
, the
Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence The Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, previously known as the Legal Community Against Violence and the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, is a national public interest law center and nonprofit organization that promotes gun safety legis ...
and other gun control proponents have opposed his nomination.
House Minority Leader Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, also known as floor leaders, are congresspeople who coordinate legislative initiatives and serve as the chief spokespersons for their parties on the House floor. These leaders are el ...
Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...
claimed Gorsuch "comes down on the side of felons over gun safety". PolitiFact called her statement misleading and said that Gorsuch's past rulings do not "demonstrate that he thinks more felons should be allowed guns than what is already permitted under the law". The
American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
raised concerns about Gorsuch's respect for disability rights. The
Secular Coalition for America The Secular Coalition for America is an advocacy group located in Washington D.C. It describes itself as "representing the interests of atheists, humanists, freethinkers, agnostics, and other nontheistic Americans." The Secular Coalition has ch ...
,
Freedom from Religion Foundation The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) is an American nonprofit organization, which advocates for atheists, agnostics, and nontheists. Formed in 1976, FFRF promotes the separation of church and state, and challenges the legitimacy of many ...
and
Union for Reform Judaism The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) until 2003, founded in 1873 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the congregational arm of Reform Judaism in North America. The other two arms established ...
all voiced concerns with Gorsuch's nomination. The
Judicial Crisis Network The Concord Fund (formally known as the Judicial Crisis Network and, before that, as the Judicial Confirmation Network) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative advocacy organization. Its president is Carrie Campbell Severi ...
enthusiastically rallied behind Gorsuch after running a campaign against Merrick Garland, spending a total of $17 million to these ends.


Judiciary Committee review


Confirmation hearings

Gorsuch's nomination was first considered by the
Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations ...
, which holds hearings on all federal judicial nominations and decides whether or not to send nominations to the full Senate for a final confirmation vote. In the 115th Congress the committee consisted of 11 Republicans and 9 Democrats, and was led by Republican
Chuck Grassley Charles Ernest Grassley (born September 17, 1933) is an American politician serving as the president pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate, and the senior United States senator from Iowa, having held the seat since 1981. In 2022, h ...
. In preparation for the hearing, the committee requested the
Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
(DOJ) to send all documents they had regarding Gorsuch's work in the
George W. Bush administration George W. Bush's tenure as the 43rd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2001, and ended on January 20, 2009. Bush, a Republican from Texas, took office following a narrow victory over Democratic ...
; and by the time the hearing commenced, the DOJ had sent the committee over 144,000 pages of documents and, according to a
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
spokesman, more than 220,000 pages of documents altogether. Gorsuch's confirmation hearing started on March 20, 2017, and lasted four days. On the first day of hearings, March 20, senators largely used their opening statements to criticize each other, with Ranking Democrat
Dianne Feinstein Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein ( ; born Dianne Emiel Goldman; June 22, 1933) is an American politician who serves as the senior United States senator from California, a seat she has held since 1992. A member of the Democratic Party, she was ...
complaining of the "unprecedented treatment" of Judge Merrick Garland, while Democrat Michael Bennet felt "two wrongs don't make a right", with Republican
Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...
insisting President Trump's nomination now carried "super-legitimacy". Democratic senators repeatedly criticized Gorsuch for his dissent i
Transam Trucking v. Administrative Review Bd
, colloquially referred to as the "frozen trucker case", where the Tenth Circuit
Court of Appeals A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...
ruled in favor of a truck driver who, after waiting hours for relief, had finally abandoned his unheated truck and trailer in dangerously inclement conditions. Democrat
Dick Durbin Richard Joseph Durbin (born November 21, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Illinois, a seat he has held since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, Durbin has served as the Senate De ...
told Gorsuch that the cold weather described in the facts of the case was "not as cold as your dissent". Durbin also criticized the accuracy of his opinion in the '' Hobby Lobby case'', where Gorsuch contended that contraception "destroys a fertilized egg," and that he had held the
Religious Freedom Restoration Act The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, Pub. L. No. 103-141, 107 Stat. 1488 (November 16, 1993), codified at through (also known as RFRA, pronounced "rifra"), is a 1993 United States federal law that "ensures that interests in religiou ...
included protection for corporations, rather than just individuals. In his own 16-minute opening statement, Gorsuch repeated his belief that a judge who likes all his rulings is "probably a pretty bad judge." He emphasized his decisions were based on "the facts at issue in each particular case." He also noted that his extensive record included many examples where he ruled both for and against disadvantaged groups. On the second day of hearings, March 21, Gorsuch responded to questions by committee members. When Chairman Chuck Grassley asked Gorsuch if he would "have any trouble ruling against the president who appointed you", Gorsuch replied, no, and "that's a softball". Ted Cruz used his time to ask Gorsuch about ''
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' (sometimes referred to as ''HG2G'', ''HHGTTG'', ''H2G2'', or ''tHGttG'') is a comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a 1978 radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4, it ...
'', basketball, and
mutton busting Mutton busting is an event held at rodeos similar to bull riding or bronc riding, in which children ride or race sheep. Description In the event, a sheep is held still, either in a small chute or by an adult handler while a child is placed on top ...
. When asked by Republican
Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin Graham (born July 9, 1955) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A member of the Republican Party, Graham chaired the Senate Committee ...
how he would have reacted if during his interview at
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the President had asked him to vote against ''
Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...
'', Gorsuch replied "I would have walked out the door". Democratic senators continued to criticize Gorsuch on his dissent in the truck driver case, with Dianne Feinstein asking him "will you be for the little men" and Democrat
Al Franken Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. He gained fame as a writer and performer on the television comed ...
telling the judge the facts of the case constituted an "absurdity exception" to the
Plain Meaning Rule The plain meaning rule, also known as the literal rule, is one of three rules of statutory construction traditionally applied by English courts. The other two are the " mischief rule" and the " golden rule". The plain meaning rule dictates that ...
, which Gorsuch relied upon in his dissent. Franken went on to say "I had a career in identifying absurdity" (referring to his former career as a comedian). Democrat
Patrick Leahy Patrick Joseph Leahy (; born March 31, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who is the senior United States senator from Vermont and serves as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate. A member of the Democratic Party, ...
used his time to criticize Republicans' obstructions of the Garland nomination, disparage the policies of President George W. Bush that Gorsuch had defended at the Justice Department, and to ask Gorsuch how he would rule in '' Washington v. Trump'', a pending case concerning the legality of Trump's
Executive Order 13769 Executive Order 13769, titled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, labeled the "Muslim ban" by critics, or commonly referred to as the Trump travel ban, was an executive order by US President Donald Trump ...
, colloquially referred to as the "Muslim Ban." Gorsuch refused to comment on active litigation and explained that Justice Department lawyers must defend their client, while characterizing Garland as someone whom he admires, "an outstanding judge" and that he always reads Garland's opinions with "special care". On the third day of hearings, March 22, Gorsuch continued to answer committee members' questions. Republican
Orrin Hatch Orrin Grant Hatch (March 22, 1934 – April 23, 2022) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Utah from 1977 to 2019. Hatch's 42-year Senate tenure made him the longest-serving Republican U.S. senato ...
asked Gorsuch if he thought his writings reflected "a knee-jerk attitude against common-sense regulations", to which the judge replied "no". Democrat
Sheldon Whitehouse Sheldon Whitehouse (born October 20, 1955) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Rhode Island since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States Attorney from 1993 to 1998 ...
spent the bulk of his allotted time describing to Gorsuch the negative effects of "
Dark money In the politics of the United States, dark money refers to spending to influence elections where the source of the money is not disclosed to voters. In the United States, some types of nonprofit organizations may spend money on campaigns wi ...
" contributed by unknown donors. He also warned that the Court's 2010 ''
Citizens United Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
'' ruling's elimination of limits for political spending by corporations in elections could result in undue corporate political influence, and asked Gorsuch if would be subject to " capture" by big business, to which he replied "nobody will capture me". During her allotted time, Democrat Amy Klobuchar pressed Gorsuch on what she viewed as his "selective
originalism In the context of United States law, originalism is a theory of constitutional interpretation that asserts that all statements in the Constitution must be interpreted based on the original understanding "at the time it was adopted". This conc ...
," observing that Gorsuch, who self-identifies as an originalist, had not consistently interpreted legal texts, including the Constitution, by the original public meaning that they would have had at the time that they became law. Later, when Dianne Feinstein asked him a question on the
Equal Protection Clause The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "''nor shall any State ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal ...
and tensions between originalism and the later expansion of constitutional protections for women and racial minorites after its original drafting, Gorsuch stated that originalism did not seek "to return us to horse and buggy days" and that "it matters not a whit that some of the drafters of the Fourteenth Amendment were racists. Because they were. Or sexists, because they were. The law they drafted promises equal protection of the laws to all persons. That's what they wrote." That same day, the Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Tenth Circuit in an
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a piece of American legislation that ensures students with a disability are provided with a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) that is tailored to their individual needs. IDEA wa ...
case Gorsuch had not been involved in, although in 2008 he had written for a unanimous panel applying the same circuit precedent. Still, Senate Minority Leader
Charles Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, and ...
said this demonstrated "a continued, troubling pattern of Judge Gorsuch deciding against everyday Americans, even children who require special assistance at school".


Plagiarism allegations

On April 4,
BuzzFeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III to focus on tracking viral content. Ken ...
and ''
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
'' ran articles highlighting similar language occurring in Gorsuch's book '' The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia'' and an earlier law review article by Abigail Lawlis Kuzma,
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
's deputy
attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
. Academic experts contacted by ''Politico'' "differed in their assessment of what Gorsuch did, ranging from calling it a clear impropriety to mere sloppiness".
John Finnis John Mitchell Finnis, , (born 28 July 1940) is an Australian legal philosopher, jurist and scholar specializing in jurisprudence and the philosophy of law. He is the Biolchini Family Professor of Law, emeritus, at Notre Dame Law School and a ...
, who supervised Gorsuch's Oxford dissertation at Oxford stated, "The allegation is entirely without foundation. The book is meticulous in its citation of primary sources. The allegation that the book is guilty of plagiarism because it does not cite secondary sources which draw on those same primary sources is, frankly, absurd." Kuzma stated, "I have reviewed both passages and do not see an issue here, even though the language is similar. These passages are factual, not analytical in nature, framing both the technical legal and medical circumstances of the ' Baby/Infant Doe' case that occurred in 1982."
Noah Feldman Noah R. Feldman (born May 22, 1970) is an American academic and legal scholar. He is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and chairman of the Society of Fellows at Harvard University. He is the author of 10 books, host of ...
, a Harvard Law professor, thought that Gorsuch had committed "minor plagiarism", that deserved "no more punishment than the embarrassment attendant on its revelation".


Committee vote

On April 3, 2017, the Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed the Gorsuch nomination, sending it to the full Senate for final action by an 11–9
party-line vote A party-line vote in a deliberative assembly (such as a constituent assembly, parliament, or legislature) is a vote in which a substantial majority of members of a political party vote the same way (usually in opposition to the other political ...
, with all Republican members voting for him and all Democratic members voting against. The last time the committee's vote to approve a Supreme Court nominee split precisely along party lines was in 2006 on the Samuel Alito nomination.


Filibuster and cloture vote

Gorsuch needed to win a simple majority vote of the full Senate (51 votes) to be confirmed; however, a
filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking out ...
by the opposition would add an additional requirement, a three-fifths supermajority vote in favor of
cloture Cloture (, also ), closure or, informally, a guillotine, is a motion or process in parliamentary procedure aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. ...
(60 votes), which would allow debate to end and force a final vote on confirmation. At the time, Republicans held 52 seats in the 100-seat Senate, and could also count on (if needed) the tie-breaking vote of
Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
Pence, acting in his Constitutional capacity as President of the Senate. After nominating Gorsuch, President Trump called on the Senate to use the "
nuclear option In the United States Senate, the nuclear option is a parliamentary procedure that allows the Senate to override a standing rule by a simple majority, avoiding the two-thirds supermajority normally required to invoke cloture on a resolution to ...
" and abolish the filibuster for Supreme Court appointments if its continued existence would prevent Gorsuch's confirmation. The nuclear option was used in 2013 by then-Majority Leader Harry Reid to abolish filibusters for all presidential appointments except nominations to the Supreme Court. While some Republicans such as
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
expressed reluctance about abolishing the filibuster for executive appointments, others such as
John Cornyn John Cornyn III ( ; born February 2, 1952) is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Texas, a seat he has held since 2002. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the Senate majority whip for ...
argued that the Republican majority should reserve all options necessary to confirm Gorsuch. During the last day of committee hearings, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that he would filibuster the nomination. Democratic opposition focused on complaints saying that Scalia's seat should have been filled by President Obama, rather than on Gorsuch himself. In addition, Democrats Al Franken, Elizabeth Warren, and Kamala Harris, along with
Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...
each criticized various aspects of Gorsuch's record. Additionally, Jeff Merkley said he would do "anything in his power"—including the power of filibustering—to oppose Gorsuch's nomination. On April 6, 2017, Democrats launched a filibuster against Gorsuch's nomination. In response, Republicans invoked the nuclear option and changed the Senate rules to end filibusters for Supreme Court nominees. The move came after Democrats blocked the nomination under the previous rule, when only four Democrats crossed-over and voted with Republicans for cloture: Michael Bennet,
Joe Donnelly Joseph Simon Donnelly Sr. (born September 29, 1955) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as a United States senator from Indiana from 2013 to 2019. Since 2022, he has served as the United States Ambassador to the Holy Se ...
, Heidi Heitkamp and Joe Manchin. After the rules change, a second cloture vote was held; this one, needing only a majority of Senators voting, passed, bringing debate to a close.


Full Senate vote

The Senate confirmed Neil Gorsuch to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court on April 7, 2017, by a vote of 54–45. All Republicans present, along with Democrats Joe Manchin, Heidi Heitkamp and Joe Donnelly, voted to confirm him. Republican Johnny Isakson, who had supported the nomination, was absent for the vote because he was recovering from back surgery. On April 10, Gorsuch took the prescribed constitutional and judicial (set by federal law) oaths of office, and became the 113th member of the Supreme Court. At age 49, he was the youngest person to join the Court since Clarence Thomas, at age 43, in 1991. Also, having been a law clerk for
Anthony Kennedy Anthony McLeod Kennedy (born July 23, 1936) is an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1988 until his retirement in 2018. He was nominated to the court in 1987 by Presid ...
(1993–94), he became the first Supreme Court justice to serve alongside a justice for whom he had previously clerked.


See also

* Demographics of the Supreme Court of the United States * Donald Trump Supreme Court candidates * First 100 days of Donald Trump's presidency * List of nominations to the Supreme Court of the United States


References


External links

Announcement of nominee
President Trump's Nominee for the Supreme Court Neil M. Gorsuch
The
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
* Confirmation hearing witness testimony
Michael Bennet

Cory Gardner

Neil Katyal

Neil Gorsuch

Nancy Scott Degan

Deanell Reece Tacha

Leah Bressack

Elisa Massimino

Jameel Jaffer

Jeff Perkins

Guerino Calemine

Jeff Lamken

Lawrence Solum

Jonathan Turley

Karen Harned

Heagther McGhee

Fatima Goss Graves

Patrick Gallagher

Eve Hill

Peter Kirsanow

Alice Fisher

Hannah Smith

Timothy Meyer

Jamil N. Jaffer

Kristen Clarke

Sarah Warbelow

Amy Hagstrom Miller

William Marshall

Sandy Phillips
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorsuch, Neil Supreme Court Nomination 115th United States Congress 2017 in American law 2017 in American politics 2017 controversies in the United States Nominations to the United States Supreme Court Presidency of Donald Trump Articles containing video clips