For the past week, Gorsuch has sat before the Senate Judiciary Committee, answering questions posed by both Republicans and Democrats about his record on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and beyond. But despite the hearings being held for Gorsuch, Democrats could not help but bring up what they see as a procedural wrong done to Judge Garland.
This hangover of anger from the Democrats was enough to cause worry amongst Republicans that Gorsuch would fall victim to the same sort of treatment. Democratic Senator Michael Bennett acknowledged the attractiveness of getting back at the Republicans for Garland’s nomination to POLITICO, but then also acknowledged the importance of keeping an open mind. “Two wrongs don’t make a right,” Bennett told the outlet.
Aside from the judge nominated by Trump’s predecessor and the ongoing inquiries into election ties to the Russian Federation, members of the Judiciary Committee squared off with the Colorado judge over complex legal doctrines and asked a series of hypothetical questions that Gorsuch often refused to answer.
Concerns brought up at the hearing surrounding Gorsuch ranged from his stance on “the little guy” to his opinions on abortion and gun rights. Democratic Senators Dianne Feinstein and Al Franken specifically attacked Gorsuch’s position on the so-called “Chevron Doctrine,” which limits judicial oversight of specialized administrative agencies.
He addressed these claims that he does not stand up for the individual by stating his extensive track record as a man who has defended and ruled in favor of decisions protecting Muslim prisoners and individual workers, and also against guilty corporations.
With Trump in the White House, the top question on many Democrats’ minds was the issue of judicial independence. Many, including Sen. Patrick Leahy, questioned whether or not Gorsuch could be counted upon to rule against the man who appointed him.
Gorsuch repeatedly affirmed his belief in an independent judiciary that makes rulings based on the law alone. Gorsuch later added that if Trump had told him a condition to being nominated to the court was interfering with the ruling in Roe v. Wade that he would have “walked out the door.”
Despite Gorsuch’s resume and experience, Democrats still assert his biggest roadblock going forward is his ability to stay unaffected by Trump’s influence.
“Trump has an amazing ability to exert control over people,” said Chandler Gory, deputy director of UA College Democrats. “I know I wouldn’t want to be an enemy of the Trump administration, so we will just have to see if Gorsuch has what it takes to stand up to him.”
As long as Trump maintains his litigiousness, every move Gorsuch makes will be scrutinized by the Democrats, Gory said.
But Republicans firmly disagree. Vice Chairman of UA College Republicans Cameron Mixon said Gorsuch represents the conservative ideal of a restrained jurist that focuses on the law and not politics.
“Judge Gorsuch is bound by the law. He interprets the law as it is written,” Mixon said. “He should receive less scrutiny compared to other nominees because his opinion is immaterial. It is based off the law.”
According to legal scholars, Gorsuch is considered to be a constitutional textualist in the vein of his likely predecessor. Textualists believe in interpreting the U.S. Constitution and other relevant law according to its original public meaning, and they draw analogies between the past and present.
University Political Science Professor Allen Linken said such views are not alien to the court’s recent jurisprudence, especially with regards to the man he is slated to replace.
“Both Justice Scalia and Judge Gorsuch attempt to view the Constitution as it was intended to mean, and apply it to circumstances of modern day cases,” Linken said. “There is a sense of acceptance in that Justice Scalia was the originalist seat on the Supreme Court and by nominating a judge of similar ideology, Judge Gorsuch appears to fit in nicely. It appears that Judge Gorsuch is a tad more conservative than Justice Scalia, but there is much ideological overlap with the former Justice Scalia.”
Linken said he is also fairly confident that Gorsuch will become the ninth justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, but he is not sure if Republicans will have to invoke the Nuclear Option.
“I believe that Judge Gorsuch will be confirmed,” Linken said. “The question of whether Judge Gorsuch will be confirmed by a majority vote, or with sixty justices is linked to whether Judge Gorsuch will be confirmed, since a simple majority vote would require a suspension of the filibuster rule. It’s tough to tell if Senate Democrats will force Senate Republicans to take that procedural step, but I wouldn’t be surprised it that happened.”
Republican leadership hopes to confirm Gorsuch following an approval by the judicial committee as soon as possible. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is optimistic that Gorsuch will be confirmed by mid-April.
