It's official.
President Donald Trump has nominated Neil Gorsuch to fill the Supreme Court seat vacated by the death of Antonin Scalia in February 2016. Gorsuch, a conservative comparable to his predecessor, is a definite win for conservatives, but the relatively-unknown judge will likely face challenges on his path to the nation's highest court.
Here's what you need to know about Gorsuch: His education spans literal continents: with degrees from two Ivy Leagues and Oxford, the man is more than prepared from an educational standpoint (he was actually a classmate of Obama's at Harvard Law). But this is run of the mill when it comes to Supreme Court justices; the thing everyone is really concerned with are his politics. Is he the conservative Trump said he would nominate? Will this man be the deciding vote on major cases concerning gun rights, abortion, and immigration laws?
Gorsuch is a strong conservative — a constitutional originalist who will undoubtedly vote to limit government as much as possible with each case. However, while he is staunchly opposed to things like assisted suicide, he has said very little about abortion during his career making him a tepid choice for Trump, who promised to deliver a strong pro-life judge. While it's not hard to guess where he stands, he might face criticism for not being more outspoken.
Trump did make a smart decision in his choice, though. The Appeals Court Judge is well loved amongst conservatives, Republicans and Libertarians alike for his credentials and his devotion to the Constitution. His focus will be on voting like a Founding Father and not preaching politics. He is popular even with some liberals — his mother, Anne Gorsuch Burford, was the director of Ronald Reagan's Environmental Protection Agency from 1981 to 1983 and Neil himself believes politics should not mix with the courts. These are all things that will help him when it comes time to face the likes of Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who has already made clear his path of obstruction to Trump's nominee. This is the unfortunate vengeance for Merrick Garland, whose Obama administration nomination expired January 3rd.
It remains to be seen how long and how smooth the path to the Supreme Court will be for Judge Neil Gorsuch. As a conservative, I'm glad to see a Trump pick that everyone could agree on. The hope is that we will agree and see this nomination through. So as always,
Good Luck, America.
