Gorsuch sworn into Supreme Court, restores conservative tilt

Judge Neil Gorsuch is congratulated by US President Donald J. Trump after being sworn in as an associate justice of the Supreme Court in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, US, April 10, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

Gorsuch said he was humbled by his ascendance to the nation's high court and thanked his former law clerks, saying of his former law clerks, "your names are etched in my heart forever."Scalia had anchored the court's conservative wing for nearly three decades before he died unexpectedly in February 2016. In nominating Gorsuch, Trump said he fulfilled a campaign pledge to pick someone in the mold of Scalia.

Gorsuch is the youngest nominee since Clarence Thomas, who was 43 when confirmed in 1991.

His 66-day confirmation process was swift, but bitterly divisive. It saw Senate Republicans trigger the "nuclear option" to eliminate the 60-vote filibuster threshold for Gorsuch and all future high court nominees. The change allowed the Senate to hold a final vote to approve Gorsuch with a simple majority.

Most Democrats refused to support Gorsuch because they were still seething over the Republican blockade last year of President Barack Obama's pick for the same seat, Merrick Garland. Senate Republicans refused to even hold a hearing for Garland, saying a high court replacement should be up to the next president.

For now, Gorsuch restores the court's conservative tilt. But the new Senate rules allowing for confirmation of a justice by a simple majority will be crucial if Trump gets to fill another opening and replace either Kennedy — often a swing vote — or one of the court's liberal justices.

Kennedy and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg are both in their 80s and Justice Stephen Breyer is 78, raising concern among Democrats that Trump may have another opportunity to move the court in a more definitive conservative direction.

Gorsuch mirrored Scalia's originalist approach to the law during his 11 years on the federal appeals court in Denver, interpreting the Constitution according to the meaning understood by those who drafted it. Like Scalia, Gorsuch is a gifted writer with a flair for turning legal jargon into plain language people can understand.

Gorsuch will be seated just in time to hear one of the biggest cases of the term: a religious rights dispute over a Missouri law that bars churches from receiving public funds for general aid programs.

The White House swearing-in ceremony was a departure from recent history. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan were both sworn in publicly at the Supreme Court. Former Justice John Paul Stevens has argued that holding the public ceremony at the court helps drive home the justice's independence from the White House.

A few hours after the swearing-in ceremony, a Pennsylvania college honored Scalia and Ginsburg with its annual award for civility in public life. The prize from Allegheny College noted the enduring friendship between the justices despite their ideological differences.

In her remarks accepting the award, Ginsburg said collegiality "really matters" at the court and urged members of Congress to "lead in restoring harmonious work ways."

Associated Press