Analysis: Gorsuch stays on the fence
Nominee stresses importance of past rulings but refuses to take a side on many decisions
In his testimony before Congress, Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch grudgingly endorsed only the oldest and most popular of past court precedents. Gorsuch, who is expected to face a confirmation vote in the Senate this week, avoided taking sides on Supreme Court cases involving abortion, gun control, campaign finance and gay rights, stoking concerns of Democrats already inclined to oppose him.
@richardjwolf USA TODAY WASHINGTON Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch says judges should focus “backward, not forward” when deciding cases by looking, among other things, to past court precedents. But through more than 20 hours of testimony before Congress, he only grudgingly endorsed the oldest and most popular of those precedents, refusing to offer his opinions on those decided in recent decades and by narrow majorities.
His refusal to take sides on cases decided by the Supreme Court involving abortion, gun control, campaign finance and gay rights added to the concerns of Democrats already inclined to oppose him for other reasons: Republicans’ refusal to consider President Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, last year; President Trump’s avowed use of a litmus test to ensure Gorsuch would be a staunch conservative; and a year-long, multimilliondollar campaign financed by unknown donors.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, gave voice to those concerns to illustrate why