About

On January 31, 2017, the Honorable Neil M. Gorsuch became President Donald Trump's first nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States. Gorsuch was the second judge nominated to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia. In 2016, the last year of his presidency, Barack Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland to replace Scalia.

The Republican controlled Senate chose not to give Judge Garland a hearing, opting instead to gamble on the prospect that they might reclaim the presidency from the Democrats. During the campaign, Trump made a list of potential Supreme Court picks available to the public. Gorsuch was on this list.

The circumstances surrounding the nomination and the hearing itself were highly contentious and resulted in Gorsuch being only the second nominee in history to be filibustered. Once the Democrats employed the filibuster, the Republican majority decided on "the nuclear option" and changed the rules of the Senate pertaining to Supreme Court Nominees.

Finally, on April 7, 2017, the Senate confirmed Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court by a vote of 54-45.

The Gorsuch Hearings: The Nuclear Nomination is the edited transcript of the confirmation hearing of Associate Justice Neil M. Gorsuch.