This is the statement I sent to the media tonight. -J.D.
Jim Daly statement on the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
I am greatly encouraged by the President’s nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court created by the untimely death of Justice Antonin Scalia last year. President Trump included Judge Gorsuch on his list of potential justices during his campaign, and he kept his promise to choose a candidate from that list. This stellar list of potential jurists was thoroughly vetted and recommended by such well-known and trusted organizations as the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society.
Judge Gorsuch’s biography is impressive. A graduate of Columbia University, Harvard Law School and Oxford University, he worked in a private law practice from 1995 to 2005, at which time he joined the U.S. Department of Justice as a Deputy Associate Attorney General and worked there until 2006, when he was nominated by President George W. Bush- and confirmed by a voice vote in the Senate – to be a judge on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where he has served ever since. He also clerked for Justices Byron White and Anthony Kennedy. His judicial record while at the Court of Appeals appears to fit the mold of the late Justice Scalia – a constitutionalist who adheres to the text and original understanding of the law or constitutional provision at issue rather than creating new law based on his own policy preferences.
As a family ministry concerned with the sanctity of life, marriage, and religious freedom, we are optimistic that Judge Gorsuch will continue to protect our cherished liberties, and earn the entire country’s respect as a member of our nation’s highest court.
Judge Gorsuch promises to strictly interpret the Constitution and our nation’s laws and not make new law from the bench. It’s our hope that he will follow in the late Justice Scalia’s footsteps in boldly standing up to the whims of culture and have “the courage to suffer the contempt of the sophisticated world.”
During the past eight years, I have met with President Obama, a man who often said that elections have consequences. To those inclined to block this nomination, I would remind them of our former president’s own words and encourage them to extend to the 45th president the same privilege they sought for the 44th.
We call on the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold a prompt and fair hearing on the nominee, and for the entire Senate to hold an up-or-down confirmation vote as soon as possible thereafter. We urge all thoughtful Americans to pray for Judge Gorsuch as well as for the senators who will exercise their constitutional responsibilities with regard to the confirmation of this nominee.
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