Confirmation hearing puts Gorsuch on spot
Democrats still livid over snub of Garland; GOP praises nominee
Judge Neil Gorsuch vows to remember the “modest station we judges are meant to occupy in a democracy” if he is elevated to the high court.
WASHINGTON — Judge Neil Gorsuch promised to remember the “modest station we judges are meant to occupy in a democracy” if he is elevated to the nation’s highest court, as the hearing on his nomination to the Supreme Court began Monday among Democratic doubts about his impartiality and whether he should be there in the first place.
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee made clear they are not over the decision of their Republican colleagues to keep open the seat held by the late Justice Antonin Scalia in order for President Donald Trump to fill it.
They said they would use four days of scheduled confirmation hearings to draw out Gorsuch — who sits on the Denver-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit — on abortion rights, gun rights, religious rights, environmental protection and whether he would rule against the White House if presented with cases that challenge the administration.
“You’re going to have your hands full with this president,” Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., told Gorsuch. “He’s going to keep you busy.”
On his own behalf
In a 13-minute introductory address, Gorsuch tried to reassure senators that he was a mainstream jurist, who was in the majority in 99 percent of the 10 years of cases he decided on the appeals court. Gorsuch said he has ruled for disabled students, prisoners, immigrants in the U.S. illegally, the rich and poor “and against such persons too.”
“But my decisions have never reflected a judgment about the people before me — only my best judgment about the law and facts at issue in each particular case,” he said.
It was clear from the beginning of Monday’s hearing that Democrats were livid that Republicans blocked consideration of U.S. Appeals Judge Merrick Garland, who had been President Barack Obama’s choice to replace Scalia after his death 13 months ago.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., blocked a hearing for Garland, saying the next president should name the late justice’s successor.
“I’m deeply disappointed that it’s under these circumstances that we begin our hearings,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., told the Senate Judiciary Committee, saying Gorsuch was nominated only because of the “unprecedented treatment” of Garland.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., on Monday called that decision “an extraordinary blockade” and “one of the greatest stains on the 200-year history of this committee.” He noted the judiciary panel had once defied President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “court packing” — or attempts to expand the size of the Supreme Court in order to earn more favorable rulings.
“Now, Republicans are guilty of their own court-unpacking scheme in that their blocking of Merrick Garland was never grounded in principle or precedent,” Leahy said.
Right-center rulings
Gorsuch, 49, was promoted by conservative legal activists because of his sterling credentials, a decade of right-of-center rulings and his allegiance to the same brand of constitutional interpretation Scalia followed.
In a sign of the bipartisan support he enjoys, Gorsuch was introduced by the senators from his home state of Colorado, Republican Cory Gardner and Democrat Michael Bennet — who has not signaled whether he plans to vote for the judge — and Neal Katyal, who served as acting U.S. solicitor general for Obama.
The first day of hearings began with the panel’s chairman, Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, vowing to refer Gorsuch to the full Senate by April 3.
“This is quite a lot different than the last time I was here,” Gorsuch said jokingly as he introduced his family to the committee, contrasting the large crowd seated behind him in the hearing room with that at a less controversial hearing in 2006 for him to serve on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Republicans cheered Gorsuch on Monday, acknowledging the strong Democratic attacks to come, but adding the nomination came with broad public support.
“This will be more of an ordeal than for your last appointment,” Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, counseled Gorsuch as he read his opening statement.
Cruz’s endorsement
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Gorsuch’s nomination comes with “super-legitimacy” because he was on a list of potential court nominees Trump touted during his presidential campaign.
“The American people played a very direct role in helping choose this nominee,” Cruz said.
Given Gorsuch’s genial demeanor and strong record, Senate Democrats face a stark dilemma — whether to take another stand against Trump’s administration and satisfy liberals upset with his efforts to strip away provisions of the Affordable Care Act, impose an entry ban on some immigrants and deeply cut federal agencies — or allow enough moderate Democrats to join with Republicans to confirm him.
In recent days, many Democrats on the judiciary panel said they will wait until the end of the hearings before determining how to proceed.
But they signaled Monday that they will probe him on several fronts.
Feinstein said she would ask Gorsuch to clarify his beliefs on abortion rights and gun rights — two issues on which he’s never ruled, but issues that he has mentioned in passing in other legal opinions, she said.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Gorsuch is set to face at least 50 minutes of questioning by each member of the panel.
The proceedings are expected to conclude Thursday with a panel of witnesses speaking for or against Gorsuch.