WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — Judge Neil Gorsuch was approved by the Senate on Friday to become the 113th justice of the Supreme Court, officially bringing to an end a political battle that lasted more than a year and tested constitutional norms inside the Capitol’s upper chamber.
The news comes as a triumph for President Donald Trump, however rocky the first months of his administration may have been, he now has a lasting legacy: Judge Gorsuch, 49, could serve on the court for decades.
“As a deep believer in the rule of law, Judge Gorsuch will serve the American people with distinction as he continues to faithfully and vigorously defend our Constitution,” the president said.
Vice President Mike Pence presided over Friday’s final vote, a show of force for the White House on a day when his tiebreaking vote as president of the Senate was not necessary. The final tally was 54-45 in favor of confirmation. Friday’s vote was only possible after the Senate discarded longstanding rules meant to ensure mature deliberation and bipartisan cooperation in considering Supreme Court nominees. After Democrats waged a filibuster against Gorsuch Thursday, denying him the 60 votes required to advance to a final vote, Republicans invoked the so-called nuclear option: lowering the threshold on Supreme Court nominations to a simple majority vote.
Gorsuch possesses the typical credentials of the modern Supreme Court justice. He is a graduate of Columbia, Harvard and Oxford, served as a Supreme Court law clerk and worked as a lawyer at a prestigious Washington law firm and at the Justice Department. He joined the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, in Denver, in 2006, where he was widely admired as a fine judicial stylist.
During 20 hours of questioning during his Senate confirmation hearings last month, Gorsuch said almost nothing of substance. But neither side harbored any doubts, based on the judge’s opinions, other writings and the president who nominated him, that Judge Gorsuch would be a reliable conservative.
He will be sworn in Monday, in two ceremonies: a private session at the Supreme Court, where Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. will preside, and a public event at the White House, where Justice Anthony M. Kennedy will administer a second oath. A week from Monday, he will put on his robes and ascend to the Supreme Court bench to hear his first arguments. A ninth chair, absent since the spring of 2016, will be waiting for him.