Who is Neil Gorsuch, Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee?
DONALD Trump has nominated Neil Gorsuch for the US Supreme Court, but who is he?
Trump nominates judge Neil Gorsuch to US Supreme Court
Mr Gorsuch is a federal judge from Colorado, and has been labelled “the very best judge in the country” by Donald Trump.
The President praised his “outstanding legal skills, brilliant mind, tremendous discipline”, and his “earned bipartisan support” while announcing the nomination yesterday.
Mr Trump added that his the federal appeal court judge's experience is “as good as it gets”.
”Depending on their age, a justice can be active for 50 years. And his or her decisions can last a century or more, and can often be permanent,” he said.
Mr Gorsuch, 49, will become the youngest Supreme Court justice to be appointed since 1971 as long as his nomination is approved by the Senate.
The Senate's top Democrat Chuck Schemer has voiced “very serious doubts” and has said that his party will battle against the appointment.
Republicans have praised Mr Gorsuch’s appointment as “outstanding” and a “home run” for the President.
Neil Gorsuch is Donald Trump's Supreme Court nomination
Where is Neil Gorsuch from?
Mr Gorsuch was born in Denver, Colorado, and studied at Columbia University before attending Harvard Law School alongside former President Barack Obama.
His mother is Anne Gorsuch Burford, the first woman to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.
After graduating in 1991, he worked as a clerk for two Supreme Court justices including Anthony Kennedy – currently the second most senior judge on the panel.
He worked in private practice for 20 years and received a doctorate from Oxford University in 2004.
In 2006 he was appointed to the 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver by Republican President George W Bush.
He continues to live in his home state with his wife Louise and their two daughters.
Mr Gorsuch was joined by his wife Louise
Mr Gorsuch studied alongside Barack Obama
What is Neil Gorsuch’s reputation?
During his tenure as a federal appeal court judge, he has earned a reputation as a traditional conservative in the vein of the late judge Antonin Scalia, who Supreme Court seat he now hopes to fill.
In one high-profile case, he ruled that the owners of craft company Hobby Lobby did not need to pay for employee contraception as mandated by Obamacare, citing religious freedom arguments.
He has written a book called The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia in which he defended the "intrinsic value" of human life.
Mr Gorsuch is a self-described originalist and believes that the US Constitution should be interpreted as it was meant when it was written in 1787, rather than as a living, evolving document.
He has criticised liberal politicians for using the courts to address issues such as equal marriage.