Partisan Divide Evident as Judge Gorsuch Delivers Message of Unity at Confirmation Hearing

Judge Neil Gorsuch, President Trump’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, appeared for the first day of his Senate confirmation hearing Monday. Rejecting the notion that judges are “politicians in robes,” Judge Gorsuch, a George W. Bush appointee who sits on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, emphasized the importance of a neutral and independent judiciary. The judge’s comments followed four hours of speeches from senators and pointed references by Democrats to what they consider the unfair treatment of Obama nominee Judge Merrick Garland. We discuss Judge Gorsuch’s jurisprudence and the politics surrounding his confirmation.