Gorsuch takes Supreme Court seat after divisive confirmation
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With a divisive confirmation process behind him, Judge Neil Gorsuch is about to take his place as the newest Supreme Court justice.
The 49-year-old appeals court judge from Colorado is to be sworn in Monday after a bruising fight that saw Republicans change the rules for approving Supreme Court picks—over the fierce objection of Democrats.
First up is a private ceremony in the high court's Justices' Conference Room, with Chief Justice John Roberts administering the oath prescribed by the Constitution. That will be followed by a public White House ceremony, where Justice Anthony Kennedy is to administer the oath.
Gorsuch, who once clerked for Kennedy, will be the first member of the court to serve alongside his former boss.
He replaces the late Justice Antonin Scalia, part of the court's conservative wing for nearly three decades before he died unexpectedly in February 2016. In nominating Gorsuch, President Donald Trump said he fulfilled a campaign pledge to pick someone in the mold of Scalia.
During 11 years on the federal appeals court in Denver, Gorsuch mirrored Scalia's originalist approach to the law, interpreting the Constitution according to the meaning understood by those who drafted it. Like Scalia, he is a gifted writer with a flair for turning legal jargon into plain language people can understand.
