Trump nominates Judge Neil Gorsuch to Supreme Court

Nearly one year after the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, President Trump announced Tuesday he has selected Judge Neil Gorsuch as his nominee to fill Scalia's seat.

Trump promised during the campaign he would "find the very best judge in the country for the Supreme Court. I promised to select someone who respects our laws, and is representative of our Constitution and who loves our Constitution and someone who will interpret them as written."

Gorsuch is a 49-year-old federal appeals court judge from Colorado, who was nominated to the U.S. 10th Circuit appellate court by former President George W. Bush in 2006. If confirmed, Gorsuch said he will "do all my powers permit to be a faithful servant of the constitutional laws of this great country." He called Scalia a "lion of the law," and said he believes that it is "for Congress, not the courts, to write new laws. It is the rule of judges to apply, not alter, the work of the people's representatives. A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge, stretching for results he prefers rather than those the law demands."

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Republicans blocked former President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, and Democrats have threatened to filibuster Trump's pick. The GOP only has a 52-seat Senate majority, and 60 votes are needed for a confirmation.