Who is Neil Gorsuch? Donald Trump’s Supreme Court judge nominee and originalist set to replace Antonin Scalia
The conservative judge is strongly against assisted suicide and pro-gun rights
DONALD Trump has announced federal judge Neil Gorsuch as his nomination to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court.
If confirmed by the Senate, Gorsuch, 49, would replace the late-Justice Antonin Scalia and restore the court’s conservative majority.
The President announced his pick at the White House saying he selected someone “who respects our laws and is representative of the constitution.”
The court is the most powerful in the US and has the final say on many important issues such as abortion and gay marriage.
Let’s take a closer look at Gorsuch – his background, views and how his nomination will be viewed on both sides of the political aisle.
Who is Neil Gorsuch?
Gorsuch was born in Denver, Colorado, and at 49-years-old he will be the youngest justice on the court since 1971 – if he is confirmed by the Senate.
He is currently a federal appeals judge in Denver - a post which he was appointed to by President George W Bush in 2006.
The respected conservative studied at Harvard Law school and graduated the same year as Barack Obama.
He worked in the justice department during Bush's tenure in the White House but has never held political office.
Gorsuch has a sterling legal pedigree and clerked for two Supreme Court justices, Byron White and Anthony Kennedy.
He also served as a clerk on the second most important appeals court in the country, in Washington D.C., for conservative Judge David Sentelle.
Gorsuch is an Episcopalian meaning he will be the only Protestant on the court which has five Catholics and three Jewish justices.
If he is successfully chosen, then he will give the nine-seat court a 5-4 conservative majority.
What are Gorsuch’s political views?
Much like Scalia, who died aged 79 last February, Gorsuch is an ‘originalist’ meaning he believes the US constitution should not be reinterpreted as society evolves.
While he is a conservative, Gorsuch has never spoken about the case of Roe vs Wade, a Supreme Court ruling which made abortion legal across the US in 1973.
But he is strongly against assisted suicide believing that taking a human life, in any form, is wrong.
His controversial cases include ruling in the favour of “religious freedom” for businesses the Little Sisters of the Poor and the craft company Hobby Lobby, who did want to provide their employees with contraceptive coverage.
These rulings challenged the Affordable Care Act that stated the companies should pay for birth control for their employees.
He is thought to be pro-gun rights, once writing that Americans' right to bear arms "must not be infringed lightly".
How will Democrats react to the nomination?
Gorsuch's nomination could spark political fireworks in the Senate if the Democrats try to block it.
President Obama nominated judge Merrick Garland following Justice Scalia's death but that pick was dismissed by Republicans.
GOP senators refused to debate Obama’s choice claiming it was to close to a general election.
Many Democrats now feel a liberal majority in the Supreme Court was stolen from them.
If Trump opponents prolong the debate on Gorsuch's nomination, then he would need more than a simple majority in the Senate to replace Scalia.
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