Senate confirms Trump nominee Neil Gorsuch for Supreme Court

Judge Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court of the United States, was confirmed today as the newest Supreme Court justice in a 54-45 vote by the U.S. Senate. Reuters reports:

Three Democrats joined the Republicans in voting for Gorsuch. Gorsuch’s confirmation ends the longest Supreme Court vacancy since 1862 during the American Civil War, with the court down a justice for almost 14 months since long-serving conservative Justice Antonin Scalia died on Feb. 13, 2016.

Senator Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) noted his support for the confirmation in a press release today, saying Gorsuch is “a judge’s judge who knows that his job isn’t to wear a red or blue jersey under that black robe and re-write laws. His duty is to faithfully uphold the Constitution. That’s good for Nebraskans, good for the rule of law, and good for the next generation of Americans.”

Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) applauded the confirmation as well, saying, Gorsuch has shown “dedicat[ion] to interpreting the text of the Constitution and statutes as they are written, rather than attempting to legislate from the bench.”

Some pro-life groups are also praising the move. Brian Fisher, president of Human Coalition, stated in a press release:

We look to our newest Justice with confidence that he will uphold the Right to Life of the most vulnerable Americans: preborn children and their mothers, and we thank the Senators who remained steadfast in the face of extreme partisan opposition to Judge Gorsuch’s confirmation.

Kristan Hawkins of Students for Life of America hailed the confirmation as “a huge win… for the pro-life movement, who is that much closer to having a majority of Justices on the U.S. Supreme Court who interpret the Constitution as written, not as imagined by abortion activist judges.”

Susan B. Anthony List president Marjorie Dannenfelser called Gorsuch’s confirmation “a tremendous win for the pro-life movement.”

The Senate’s confirmation, says Reuters, “reinstates the nine-seat court’s 5-4 conservative majority.”