WASHINGTON — Neil Gorsuch, nominated this week by President Donald Trump to fill a vacant seat on America's highest court, faces an epic confirmation battle in the US Senate.
Gorsuch's main task will be to argue that he is not the partisan, reactionary judge his critics say, in a process that will last months in the amphitheater of Capitol Hill.
There he will meet significantly more opposition from Democrats than they are currently creating for Trump's efforts to assemble his government.
If Cabinet members can remain in office a maximum of the eight years spanning two presidential terms — exceedingly rare in any case — Supreme Court justices are appointed for life. If confirmed, Gorsuch, at 49, could weigh in on US law for the next three decades. The rules for confirming members of the country's highest court also raise the bar for nominees.
Cabinet members require a majority of 51 votes from the country's 100 senators. Supreme Court justices must land at least 60 in order to avoid the possibility opponents would obstruct the process by mounting a filibuster — a procedure that essentially prevents a vote with endless debate.
With only 52 seats in the Senate, the majority Republicans will have to convince at least eight Democrats to cross party lines to vote for a nominee who supports the death penalty and other core right-wing positions.
Supporters of Gorsuch, whose nomination was announced by Trump on Tuesday, paint him as a fierce defender of the conservative family and religious values championed by the justice he would replace: Antonin Scalia, the Republican icon who died early last year.
But Democrats are under strong pressure from an electoral base alarmed at the direction in which Trump is taking the country, insisting Democratic senators take an uncompromising line in retaliation for Republicans' refusal to even schedule hearings to consider Merrick Garland, former president Barack Obama's nominee to replace Scalia last year.
Gorsuch can expect a full-scale fight, the first phase of which will take place behind closed doors and the second under the full glare of the media spotlight.
Gorsuch will begin his campaign holding individual meetings with as many senators as possible to try to win them over or reassure them about his positions.
The Republican leadership is helping by identifying possible weak links among the Democrats. They have identified a dozen so far, representing states that voted for Trump.
Gorsuch must also complete a questionnaire that could run into the hundreds of pages, spelling out his income, clients he's defended, media interviews he's given, travel destinations, writing and many other details.
Federal law enforcers will verify the information while the Senate Judiciary Committee conducts a parallel review.
The second phase — public hearings in the Senate — will be more difficult to negotiate. Gorsuch will have to explain each of his past decisions without displaying views staunch enough to force him to recuse himself from future cases before the court.
Armies of supporters are lining up on each side. Backing Gorsuch are the heavyweights of the conservative universe, from evangelical Christians to the anti-abortion and gun lobbies. "We're going to do everything we can to make sure Justice Scalia's seat is filled... with a real constitutional scholar, and that's what we have in Neil Gorsuch," said Chris Cox, a Washington lobbyist for the hugely powerful National Rifle Association (NRA).
NRA leader Wayne LaPierre appeared at Trump's side on Wednesday, when the president summoned conservative figures to the White House ahead of the confirmation fight.
Gorsuch's opponents include civil and women's rights activists and anti-capital punishment campaigners. "Gorsuch argued use of birth control is 'wrongful conduct,'" tweeted NARAL, which opposes restrictions on abortions.
"There is nothing normal about this #SCOTUS nomination, this White House, or this fight," it added, using an abbreviation for the Supreme Court. "We MUST #StopGorsuch."
The ACLU, the country's leading civil liberties group, expressed "concern" about Gorsuch's belief that the constitution must be interpreted according to the original meaning its framers intended.
Among Democrats' concerns is that failing to make a convincing-enough argument would ease the job of those Republicans who want to end the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees, meaning they would require a majority of only 51 votes for confirmation.
Many other Republicans want to avoid the so-called nuclear option because it would remove their own ability to filibuster future Democratic nominations when they are in the minority.
Trump, who appears to have no such qualms, has urged them to "go nuclear." — AFP
