Neil Gorsuch, currently serving on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, is Donald Trump’s pick to fill the seat opened by Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia’s death. The youngest nominee in 25 years, 49-year-old Gorsuch could provide decades of reliably conservative opinion from the bench.
“A special thank you to @POTUS,” was posted to an as-yet-unverified Twitter account in Gorsuch’s name. “As Mr. Trump’s Supreme Court nominee I promise to always do what is best for the American People. #SCOTUS”
Though Scalia died a year ago, Congressional Republicans refused to consider any pick from then-president Barack Obama, let alone his nominee, Merrick Garland.
Gorsuch is described by the Washington Post as “a less bombastic version” of Scalia, ruling in favor of allowing corporations religious exemptions from federal regulations. Conservatives hope to see aggressively anti-abortion opinions from Gorsuch, though the opportunity to issue one has apparently not come before him so far in his career.
Gorsuch voted against birth control in the Hobby Lobby case. Yes, THAT Hobby Lobby case.https://t.co/LAJgeN82b8
— Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) February 1, 2017
He’s also shown a libertarian bent when it comes to law enforcement, dissenting when two colleagues on the bench sided with a cop who arrested kids who belched at them.