Today, a month after being nominated to
the Supreme Court, Judge Neil Gorsuch will finally have his first day of
testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
This week will be brutal for Gorsuch; I
don’t envy him the process. The hearings will be the highlight of the
confirmation process, the moment when he will have the greatest ability to
answer questions about his legal philosophy and prospective future tenure on
the Court. And Democrats will also have the greatest opportunity to find, in a
public setting, the slightest hint of scandal or trumped-up excuse to block his
confirmation. In the end, it is a near certainty that Gorsuch will be
confirmed. But look for the committee’s most liberal members to hound him every
step of the way.
Many of the committee Democrats will
almost certainly ask whether Gorsuch intends to vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, in an attempt to sink him
with that oldest of liberal totems. Gorsuch will likely say, repeatedly, that
he will judge each case before him on the merits of that case alone. Democrats
will not be amused, looking for a simple “yes” or “no”. Expect a similar
back-and-forth with regard to Citizens
United, and the gun control cases of the late 2000’s.
Gorsuch is a conservative and an
originalist; there can be no doubt of that from his past legal opinions and
other writings. But he is also charming, talented, and eminently qualified for
the position to which he has been nominated. It will be a tough week, but soon
enough—possibly within a month’s time—Neil Gorsuch will be the newest member of
the Supreme Court, confirmed on a bipartisan vote.
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