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U.S. senators from Vermont on Neil Gorsuch's nomination

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On January 31, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch to succeed Justice Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court. Scalia was a member of the U.S. Supreme Court for three decades.[1] President Trump said regarding the nomination,[2]

“

I am proud to announce the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch for Justice of the Supreme Court ... This has been the most transparent and most important Supreme Court selection process in the history of our country and I wanted the American people to have a voice in this nomination. Judge Gorsuch has a superb intellect, an unparalleled legal education, and a commitment to interpreting the Constitution according to its text. He will make an incredible Justice as soon as the Senate confirms him. [3]

”

Confirmation hearings on Gorsuch's nomination before the Senate Judiciary Committee were held from March 20-23, 2017. On April 3, 2017, voting 11-9 on party lines, the Senate Judiciary Committee reported Neil Gorsuch's nomination to the full U.S. Senate. That same day, Senate Democrats announced that they had a sufficient number of votes to sustain a filibuster against the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court. In anticipation of an expected filibuster, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) indicated that he was prepared to restrict the use of filibusters on Supreme Court nominations, referred to as the nuclear option. The Senate voted on April 6, 2017, to end the use of filibusters on all presidential nominations and proceeded to vote to end debate on the Gorsuch nomination. Gorsuch was confirmed on a recorded 54-45 vote of the Senate on Friday, April 7, 2017, and he received his commission on Monday, April 10, 2017.[4]


HIGHLIGHTS
  • President Donald Trump (R) nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court on January 31, 2017.
  • On January 3, 2017, the first day of the 115th Congress, Republicans held a 52-48 majority in the U.S. Senate.
  • Confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee began on March 20, 2017.



    • U.S. senators from Vermont on Neil Gorsuch's nomination

    Patrick Leahy (D)

    Senator Leahy gave the following speech from the Senate floor on February 1, 2017:[5]


    Leahy issued the following statement on January 31, 2017:[6]

    “

    In light of the unconstitutional actions of our new President in just his first week, the Senate owes the American people a thorough and unsparing examination of this nomination. I had hoped that President Trump would work in a bipartisan way to pick a mainstream nominee like Merrick Garland and bring the country together. Instead, he outsourced this process to far-right interest groups. This is no way to treat a co-equal branch of government, or to protect the independence of our Federal judiciary.

    Before Senate Republicans waged the unprecedented blockade of Chief Judge Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court last year, the Senate took seriously its constitutional duty to provide advice and consent on nominees to the highest court in the land. But Republicans abdicated the Senate’s constitutional role by choosing politically-charged obstruction, so that a president who lost the popular vote could nominate extreme candidates to the Supreme Court.

    President Trump said he would appoint justices who would overturn 40 years of jurisprudence established in Roe v. Wade. Judge Gorsuch has shown a willingness to limit women’s access to health care that suggests the President is making good on that promise. At his confirmation hearing in 2006, Judge Gorsuch stated, ‘Precedent is to be respected and honored,’ and he said it is ‘unacceptable’ for a judge to try to impose “his own personal views, his politics, [or] his personal preferences.’ Yet last year he tried to do just that, calling for important precedent to be overturned because it does not align with his personal philosophy. From my initial review of his record, I question whether Judge Gorsuch meets the high standard set by Merrick Garland. And with the ideological litmus test that President Trump has applied in making this selection, the American people are justified to wonder whether Judge Gorsuch can truly be an independent justice. I intend to ask Judge Gorsuch about these and other important issues in the coming months. [3]

    		”

    Bernie Sanders (I)

    Senator Sanders released the following statement on January 31, 2017:[7]

    “

    The Supreme Court plays an enormously important role in American life. Unfortunately, in recent years, that role has been largely negative. I look forward to questioning Judge Gorsuch about his positions on the most important issues that impact Vermonters and all Americans and his views on recent Supreme Court decisions.

    In recent years, the disastrous Citizens United ruling opened the floodgates on campaign cash and let corporations and millionaires buy elections. The court tore up the Voting Rights Act and cleared the way for Republican governors and state legislatures to suppress the vote and make it harder for poor people, people of color, young people and senior citizens to vote. This is the court that in a long string of cases was far friendlier to big business than to the needs of workers. This is a court that let Exxon off the hook for $5 billion in fines for a disastrous oil spill in Alaska and stymied efforts to combat global warming. This is a court that has chipped away at a woman's right to control her own body.

    The stakes are very high in terms of the next Supreme Court justice. It is imperative that a new justice be prepared to defend the rights of all Americans, not just the wealthy and large corporations. Our next Supreme Court justice must vote to protect American democracy and keep campaigns free of the corrupting influence of big money, treat workers fairly, safeguard liberties for women and minorities, protect religious freedom and safeguard the privacy rights of citizens.

    I look forward to hearing Judge Gorsuch’s views on these and other critically important issues. [3]

    		”

    See also

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ The New York Times, "Justice Antonin Scalia, Who Led a Conservative Renaissance on the Supreme Court, Is Dead at 79," February 13, 2016
    2. ↑ The White House, "President Donald J. Trump nominates Neil Gorsuch to the United States Supreme Court," January 31, 2017
    3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
    4. ↑ Politico, "Gorsuch confirmation hearing set for March 20," February 16, 2017
    5. ↑ YouTube, "Leahy's First Senate Floor Speech On The Nomination Of Neil Gorsuch To The Supreme Court," February 1, 2017
    6. ↑ Senator Patrick Leahy, "Statement on the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court of the United States," January 31, 2017
    7. ↑ Senator Bernie Sanders, "Sanders statement on Supreme Court nominee," January 31, 2017
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