WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a statement given to The Birmingham News, Sen. Luther Strange (R-Ala.) heralded Neil Gorsuch’s qualifications for the U.S. Supreme Court, and urged his colleagues to confirm his nomination by President Donald J. Trump.
“Neil Gorsuch’s nomination is every bit as significant as Democrats’ outrage and opposition suggests, but not for the reasons they would have you believe,” Strange said. “Continuing a pattern that has become all too familiar during the past two months of confirmation hearings, frantic attempts to impede the appointment of the President’s nominees have fallen flat when confronted with the truth.”
Such attacks prognosticated by Strange became increasingly prevalent today during the first major portion of Judge Gorsuch’s confirmation hearings. Democratic Senators such as Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) repeated asked Gorsuch to give an opinion on hypothetical cases, which would violate judicial independence and integrity.
“Anyone, any law is going to get a fair and square deal with me,” Gorsuch said. “When I became a judge, they gave me a gavel, not a rubber stamp. No one should come before a court expecting a rubber stamp.”
Before his nomination, Gorsuch served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He graduated from undergrad with a degree from Columbia University, and he received his law degree from Harvard. His experience with the nation’s highest court goes back decades, as he clerked under to associate justices: Byron White and Anthony Kennedy.
Legal scholars agree that Gorsuch’s judicial philosophy is in the same vein as Antonin Scalia. Like Scalia, Trump’s nominee is a textualist who interprets the plain meaning of the law. He also believes the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted in the context that it was understood at the time of its adoption.
During his time on the lower court, Gorsuch has ruled in favor of the death penalty, the rights of criminal defendants, religious liberties, and those challenging the administrative capacities of executive agencies. He will no doubt be grilled on these issues and the topic of abortion during his confirmation hearings.
Gorsuch’s nomination is possible due to Republican obstruction of President Barack Obama’s nominee, Judge Merrick Garland. In order for Trump’s nominee to finally fill Scalia’s seat, he must obtain the consent of the majority of the Senate.
Aside from Sen. Strange, Alabama’s Congressional delegation has expressed satisfaction with Gorsuch, and each Alabama Congressional Republican offered his or her support.
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