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Senators Hatch, Lee, AG Sean Reyes praise President Trump’s Supreme Court pick of Judge Neil Gorsuch

Posted at 6:44 PM, Jan 31, 2017
and last updated 2017-01-31 21:40:09-05

WASHINGTON — President Trump announced his Supreme Court nominee Tuesday night as Neil Gorsuch, a judge from the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.

The Supreme Court nominee pick would fill the seat of deceased Justice Antonin Scalia.

Gorsuch has sided against Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit over government funding, siding with Governor Gary Herbert on the issue.  However, the lawsuit was ruled against the governor by the court’s three-judge panel.

The Utah’s Appeal of an A-C-L-U lawsuit over the state recognizing same-sex marriages was also proceeded over by Gorsuch, though the state dropped the case after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the Appeal of Amendment Three.

Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, the senior member and former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, praised Trump’s nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch. Hatch released a video response to the selection, which can be viewed above.

Hatch also provided the following statement:

 “Judge Gorsuch is one of the brightest stars on the federal bench, displaying a caliber of intellectual leadership that is rare even among the most qualified jurists. If there is one man capable of filling the big shoes left by the late Justice Scalia, it is Neil Gorsuch. I applaud the President’s inspired choice and will do everything in my power to ensure his confirmation. As the longest-serving current member of the Judiciary Committee, I look forward to helping lead a vigorous debate about the kind of justice that America needs.”

Sen. Mike Lee also applauded Trump’s selection. He stated:

“I’ve had the privilege of arguing before Judge Gorsuch, and he is extremely impressive. He is a prepared, thoughtful, and careful jurist who has demonstrated a strong commitment to textualism and originalism. His opinions are well-reasoned and brilliantly written, and he has enriched the Tenth Circuit’s jurisprudence in a number of areas during his ten years on the court. He is a judge’s judge, who is well within the mainstream and always decides cases based on what the law says. He also always treats the parties appearing before him with dignity and respect,” Senator Lee said in a statement.

Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes approved of Trump’s choice in a statement below:

“I applaud President Trump’s decision to nominate Judge Neil Gorsuch, a committed textualist and fellow westerner, to the Supreme Court of the United States,” said Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes. “By any objective measure, Judge Gorsuch is a sterling, eminently qualified nominee in the mainstream of American jurists. His decade-long record on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals—where he was confirmed by a voice vote in the Senate—shows that if he is confirmed, Judge Gorsuch will bring to the nation’s highest Court a keen intellect, a vibrant pen, and a healthy respect for the judiciary’s proper role in our constitutional system. I urge the Senate to give Judge Gorsuch the up-or-down vote he deserves—and to confirm him as the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.”

Hatch, Lee and Reyes said they look forward to working with the new Supreme Court judge.