Silke Jasso
On Friday, April 7th, Congress voted to confirm President Trump appointee Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Gorsuch, a conservative, will replace the late conservative justice Antonin Scalia, keeping the court balanced as many Republicans had hoped.
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Scalia passed away last year during a weekend hunting trip in Texas. The Ronald Reagan-appointed justice died during former President Obama’s tenure, leading to an intense fight between the executive and congressional Republicans as Obama raced to fill the position with one of his nominees.
Obama appointed Judge Merrick Garland, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, in March of 2016. Shortly after Scalia’s death, congressional Republicans vowed to ignore Obama’s appointment. Amid political back-and-forth and accusations of hypocrisy over appointing justices between two presidential terms, congressional Republicans were quite satisfied when Garland’s chances were shot down.
Shortly after assuming office, Trump announced Gorsuch’s appointment in January.
Gorsuch was appointed and confirmed to the Denver-based 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals by former President George W. Bush in 2006. The conservative justice was a former Harvard Law school student alongside Obama.
