US President Donald Trump has nominated Neil Gorsuch as the next Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), the highest court in the United States. Gorsuch was named as a replacement for late Antonin Scalia who was one of the nine judges of the SCOTUS, until his death in 2016.
49 year old Gorsuch is the youngest Supreme Court nominee in 25 years.
He’s known on the Denver-based 10th Circuit Court of Appeals for clear, colloquial writing, advocacy for court review of government regulations, defense of religious freedom and skepticism toward law enforcement.
He believes firmly in freedom of religion and sided with Christian employers and religious organizations in the cases of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and the case of Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged v. Burwell, later consolidated into Zubik v. Burwell.
In the Hobby Lobby case, Gorsuch believed that the requirement in the Affordable Care Act (OBAMACARE) that employers provide insurance coverage for contraceptives without a co-pay violated the rights of those employers that object to use of contraceptives on religious grounds.
He wrote:
“The ACA’s mandate requires them to violate their religious faith by forcing them to lend an impermissible degree of assistance to conduct what their religion teaches to be gravely wrong.
When US president Donald Trump introduced him, he said:
“Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support.” Announcing the nomination in his first televised prime-time address from the White House.
Gorsuch’s nomination was cheered by conservatives but scoffed by democrats.
Scalia’s wife, Maureen Scalia was present when the announcement was made and Trump made sure he praised the late justice.
Gorsuch accepted the nomination and thanked the president for entrusting him with “a most solemn assignment” and the opportunity to serve the nation. Then he also praised late Judge Scalia calling
Scalia a “lion of the law.”
Gorsuch said:
“Standing here in a house of history, I’m acutely aware of my own imperfections and pledge that if I am confirmed, I will do all my powers permit to be a faithful servant of the Constitution of laws of this great country.”
If confirmed by the senate, Gorsuch will restore the court to the conservative tilt it held with Scalia on the bench.
