Neil Gorsuch, 49
Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Colorado
Gorsuch, 49, does not bring the outsider credentials represented by others Trump considered for the position — he graduated high school from Georgetown Prep and his mother was head of the Environmental Protection Agency. He is seen as a reliable conservative with a reputation for clear and lucid writing.
Profile: Neil Gorsuch naturally equipped for his spot on Trump’s Supreme Court shortlist
Law school alma mater: Harvard
Career: Clerk for Justices Byron White and Kennedy; deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department
Going from nominee to confirmed
From start to finish, the president’s nominee must run a gantlet of committee scrutiny, background checks, testimony and Senate debate.
[ A fractured U.S. Senate awaits Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch]
President
NOMINATION
The president chooses a candidate who is well-qualified as well as someone who generally serves his political interests.
Senate Judiciary
Committee
COMMITTEE BREAKDOWN
R
11
D
9
VETTING
The committee checks the nominee’s credentials and background, including finances and past legal decisions.
FIRST HEARING
The committee questions the nominee’s qualifications. The nominee is given a chance to respond.
COMMITTEE VOTE
Even if a majority of the committee opposes the nominee, tradition calls for the panel to send the nomination to full Senate recommending it be rejected.
Full Senate
48*
52
*Includes two independents who
caucus with the Democrats.
DEBATE ON SENATE FLOOR
Led by the chair of the Judicairy Committee, the Senate debates the nomination.
FILIBUSTER
A senator may stall the debate by refusing to yield the floor.
No
filibuster
VOTE FOR CLOTURE
It takes 60 votes to stop a filibuster. Republicans could change these rules, though, to require a simple majority.
60 votes
for cloture
FINAL VOTE
Simple 51-vote
majority required.
Final majority
vote fails
Vote
succeeds
NOMINATION
FAILS
NOMINATION
CONFIRMED
President
NOMINATION
The president chooses a candidate who is well-qualified as well as someone who generally serves his political interests.
Senate Judiciary Committee
COMMITTEE BREAKDOWN
R
11
VETTING
The committee checks the nominee’s credentials and background, including finances and past legal decisions.
D
9
FIRST HEARING
The committee questions the nominee’s qualifications. The nominee is given a chance to respond.
BACK TO THE START
A nominee may withdraw from consideration at any time, as Harriet Miers did in 2005.
COMMITTEE VOTE
Even if a majority of the committee opposes the nominee, tradition calls for the panel to send the nomination to the full Senate with the recommendation that it be rejected.
Full Senate
DEBATE ON SENATE FLOOR
Led by the chair of the Judicairy Committee, the Senate debates the nomination.
48*
52
*Includes two independents who
caucus with the Democrats.
FILIBUSTER
A senator may stall the debate by refusing to yield the floor.
Filibuster
No
filibuster
VOTE FOR CLOTURE
It takes 60 votes to stop a filibuster. Republicans could change these rules, though, to require a simple majority.
FINAL VOTE
Simple 51-vote
majority required.
60 votes for cloture
Final majority vote fails
Vote
succeeds
NOMINATION
CONFIRMED
NOMINATION
FAILS
How they compare to Scalia
During his campaign, Trump released a list of 21 possible nominees with help from two conservative groups — The Federalist Society and The Heritage Foundation. Researchers attempted to measure the likelihood that each potential Trump nominee would be the most Scalia-like of the group. Gorsuch was ranked second.
[ Like Scalia, Gorsuch believes in an “originalist” interpretation of the Constitution]
Because the measure is based on their judicial decisions, the researchers only included nominees with experience as judges. They based their conclusions on three things: how the judge interprets the constitution; how often they cite Scalia’s writings about how to think about interpreting the law; and how often the judge writes a separate dissenting opinion, something Scalia did quite often. The researchers also considered the pre-Supreme Court judicial careers of Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito for comparison.
Range of similarity
Less similar to Scalia
More similar to Scalia
0
25
50
75
100%
Chief Justice Roberts
Justice Alito
Front runners
Neil Gorsuch
Other potential
nominees
Thomas Lee
William Pryor
Allison Eid
Edward Mansfield
Don Willett
Diane Sykes (State)
Margaret Ryan
Thomas Hardiman
Diane Sykes (Fed.)
Steven Colloton
David Stras
Keith Blackwell
Raymond Gruender
Raymond Kethledge
Joan Larsen
Range of similarity
Less similar to Scalia
More similar to Scalia
0
25
50
75
100%
Chief Justice Roberts
Justice Alito
The nominee
Neil Gorsuch
Other potential
nominees
Thomas Lee
William Pryor
Allison Eid
Edward Mansfield
Don Willett
Diane Sykes (State)
Margaret Ryan
Thomas Hardiman
Diane Sykes (Federal)
Steven Colloton
David Stras
Keith Blackwell
Raymond Gruender
Raymond Kethledge
Joan Larsen
The eight sitting justices
The eight current Supreme Court justices were appointed when they were between 43 and 60 years old, and they all attended Ivy League law schools. Half were nominated by a Democrat, and half by a Republican.
[ Trump makes his pick, but it’s still Anthony Kennedy’s Supreme Court]
Nominee
Neil Gorsuch
49 years old
Harvard Law
Nominated by a Democrat
Stephen G.
Breyer
78 years old
Harvard Law
Ruth Bader
Ginsburg
83 years old
Columbia Law
Elena
Kagan
56 years old
Harvard Law
Sonia
Sotomayor
62 years old
Yale Law
Nominated by a Republican
Chief Justice
John G. Roberts Jr.
61 years old
Harvard Law
Anthony M.
Kennedy
80 years old
Harvard Law
Clarence
Thomas
68 years old
Yale Law
Samuel A.
Alito, Jr.
66 years old
Yale Law
Nominee
Neil Gorsuch
49 years old
Harvard Law
Nominated by a Democrat
Elena
Kagan
56 years old
Harvard Law
Sonia
Sotomayor
62 years old
Yale Law
Stephen G.
Breyer
78 years old
Harvard Law
Ruth Bader
Ginsburg
83 years old
Columbia Law
Nominated by a Republican
Chief Justice
John G. Roberts Jr.
61 years old
Harvard Law
Anthony M.
Kennedy
80 years old
Harvard Law
Clarence
Thomas
68 years old
Yale Law
Samuel A.
Alito Jr.
66 years old
Yale Law
Nominated by a Democrat
Nominated by a Republican
Elena
Kagan
56 years old
Harvard Law
Sonia
Sotomayor
62 years old
Yale Law
Stephen G.
Breyer
78 years old
Harvard Law
Ruth Bader
Ginsburg
83 years old
Columbia Law
Nominee
Neil Gorsuch
49 years old
Harvard Law
Chief Justice
John G. Roberts Jr.
61 years old
Harvard Law
Anthony M.
Kennedy
80 years old
Harvard Law
Clarence
Thomas
68 years old
Yale Law
Samuel A.
Alito Jr.
66 years old
Yale Law
Antonin Scalia was the longest-serving sitting justice before he died on Feb. 13, 2016. He was nominated to the Supreme Court by Ronald Reagan and confirmed by the Senate unanimously in 1986.
Nominated by:
REAGAN
OBAMA
BUSH
CLINTON
BUSH
1986
’90
’00
’10
2016
Antonin Scalia
Anthony M. Kennedy
Clarence Thomas
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Stephen G. Breyer
John G. Roberts Jr.
Samuel A. Alito Jr.
Sonia Sotomayor
Elena Kagan
Nominated by:
REAGAN
OBAMA
BUSH
CLINTON
BUSH
1986
’90
’00
’10
2016
Antonin Scalia
Anthony M. Kennedy
Clarence Thomas
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Stephen G. Breyer
John G. Roberts Jr.
Samuel A. Alito Jr.
Sonia Sotomayor
Elena Kagan
Time spent considering Supreme Court nominees
In the past 115 years, the average time for Senate confirmation/rejection has been 41 days, but the process has required an average of 73 days since the Nixon administration. The Senate refused to schedule hearings for Merrick Garland, President Obama’s nominee for Scalia’s seat. His nomination, which automatically ended when the 115th Congress was sworn in on Jan. 3, lasted a record 293 days.
Days between nomination and...
Confirmation
Rejection or withdrawal
PRESIDENT
NOMINEE
0
100
200
300
Barack Obama
Merrick Garland
293
Elena Kagan
Sonia Sotomayor
George W. Bush
Samuel A. Alito Jr.
Harriet Miers
John G. Roberts Jr.
(Nominated to replace O'Connor and then to
succeed Rehnquist.)
Bill Clinton
Stephen G. Breyer
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
George H.W. Bush
Clarence Thomas
David Souter
Ronald Reagan
Anthony M. Kennedy
Robert H. Bork
Antonin Scalia
William H. Rehnquist
(Chief justice nomination)
Sandra Day O’Connor
Gerald Ford
John Paul Stevens
Richard Nixon
William H. Rehnquist
Lewis F. Powell Jr.
Harry A. Blackmun
G. Harrold Carswell
Clement Haynsworth Jr.
Warren E. Burger
Lyndon Johnson
Homer Thornberry
Abe Fortas
(Chief justice nomination)
Thurgood Marshall
Abe Fortas
John F. Kennedy
Arthur Goldberg
Byron White
Dwight Eisenhower
Potter Stewart
Charles E. Whittaker
William J. Brennan Jr.
John Marshall Harlan
Earl Warren
Harry Truman
Sherman Minton
Tom C. Clark
Fred M. Vinson
Harold H. Burton
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Wiley Blount Rutledge
Robert H. Jackson
James F. Byrnes
Harlan Stone
Frank Murphy
William O. Douglas
Felix Frankfurter
Stanley Forman Reed
Hugo Black
Herbert Hoover
Benjamin N. Cardozo
Owen Roberts
John Parker
Charles Hughes
Calvin Coolidge
Harlan F. Stone
Warren Harding
Edward T. Sanford
Pierce Butler
George Sutherland
William Howard Taft
Woodrow Wilson
John H. Clarke
Louis Brandeis
James C. McReynolds
William Taft
Mahlon Pitney
Joseph R. Lamar
Willis Van Devanter
Edward White
Charles Evans Hughes
Horace H. Lurton
Theodore Roosevelt
William Henry Moody
William R. Day
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
Confirmation
Rejection or withdrawal
Days between nomination and...
PRESIDENT
NOMINEE
0
20
60
100
200
300
Barack Obama
Merrick Garland
293
Elena Kagan
87
Sonia Sotomayor
66
George W. Bush
Samuel A. Alito Jr.
82
Harriet Miers
21
John G. Roberts Jr.
62
(Nominated to replace O'Connor and then to
succeed Rehnquist.)
Bill Clinton
Stephen G. Breyer
73
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
50
George H.W. Bush
Clarence Thomas
99
David Souter
69
Ronald Reagan
Anthony M. Kennedy
65
Robert H. Bork
114
Antonin Scalia
85
William H. Rehnquist
(Chief justice nomination)
89
Sandra Day O’Connor
33
Gerald Ford
John Paul Stevens
19
Richard Nixon
William H. Rehnquist
49
45
Lewis F. Powell Jr.
Harry A. Blackmun
27
79
G. Harrold Carswell
Clement Haynsworth Jr.
92
Warren E. Burger
17
Lyndon Johnson
100
Homer Thornberry
Abe Fortas
(Chief justice nomination)
100
Thurgood Marshall
78
14
Abe Fortas
John F. Kennedy
25
Arthur Goldberg
8
Byron White
Dwight Eisenhower
108
Potter Stewart
17
Charles E. Whittaker
64
William J. Brennan Jr.
65
John Marshall Harlan
49
Earl Warren
Harry Truman
19
Sherman Minton
16
Tom C. Clark
14
Fred M. Vinson
0
Harold H. Burton
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Wiley Blount Rutledge
28
25
Robert H. Jackson
James F. Byrnes
0
15
Harlan Stone
12
Frank Murphy
William O. Douglas
15
12
Felix Frankfurter
Stanley Forman Reed
10
Hugo Black
5
Herbert Hoover
Benjamin N. Cardozo
9
Owen Roberts
11
John Parker
47
Charles Hughes
10
Calvin Coolidge
Harlan F. Stone
31
Warren Harding
Edward T. Sanford
5
Pierce Butler
16
George Sutherland
0
William Howard Taft
0
Woodrow Wilson
10
John H. Clarke
125
Louis Brandeis
10
James C. McReynolds
William Taft
23
Mahlon Pitney
Joseph R. Lamar
3
3
Willis Van Devanter
Edward White
0
7
Charles Evans Hughes
Horace H. Lurton
7
Theodore Roosevelt
William Henry Moody
9
William R. Day
4
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
2
Confirmation
Rejection or withdrawal
Days between nomination and...
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
200
300
PRESIDENT
NOMINEE
Barack Obama
Merrick Garland
293
Elena Kagan
87
Sonia Sotomayor
66
Samuel A. Alito Jr.
82
George W. Bush
21
Harriet Miers
*Nominated to replace O'Connor and then to succeed Rehnquist.
62
John G. Roberts Jr.*
Stephen G. Breyer
73
Bill Clinton
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
50
Clarence Thomas
99
George H.W. Bush
David Souter
69
Anthony M. Kennedy
65
Ronald Reagan
Robert H. Bork
114
Antonin Scalia
85
William H. Rehnquist
(nominated for chief justice)
89
Sandra Day O’Connor
33
John Paul Stevens
19
Gerald Ford
William H. Rehnquist
49
Richard Nixon
Lewis F. Powell Jr.
45
Harry A. Blackmun
27
G. Harrold Carswell
79
Clement Haynsworth Jr.
92
Warren E. Burger
17
Homer Thornberry
100
Lyndon Johnson
Abe Fortas
100
(nominated for chief justice)
Thurgood Marshall
78
Abe Fortas
14
Arthur Goldberg
25
John F. Kennedy
Byron White
8
Potter Stewart
108
Dwight Eisenhower
Charles E. Whittaker
17
William J. Brennan Jr.
64
John Marshall Harlan
65
Earl Warren
49
Harry Truman
Sherman Minton
19
Tom C. Clark
16
Fred M. Vinson
14
Harold H. Burton
0
Franklin D.
Roosevelt
Wiley Blount Rutledge
28
Robert H. Jackson
25
James F. Byrnes
0
Harlan Stone
15
Frank Murphy
12
William O. Douglas
15
Felix Frankfurter
12
Stanley Forman Reed
10
Hugo Black
5
Herbert Hoover
Benjamin N. Cardozo
9
Owen Roberts
11
John Parker
47
Charles Hughes
10
Calvin Coolidge
Harlan F. Stone
31
Warren Harding
Edward T. Sanford
5
Pierce Butler
16
George Sutherland
0
William Howard Taft
0
Woodrow Wilson
John H. Clarke
10
Louis Brandeis
125
James C. McReynolds
10
William Taft
Mahlon Pitney
23
Joseph R. Lamar
3
Willis Van Devanter
3
Edward White
0
Charles Evans Hughes
7
Horace H. Lurton
7
Theodore
Roosevelt
William Henry Moody
9
William R. Day
4
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
2
More stories
The current Supreme Court justices are all Ivy Leaguers
But possible Trump nominees could break that trend.
Trump’s judicial influence could go far beyond putting Gorsuch on the Supreme Court
President Trump has more than 100 judicial appointments to make to federal courts across the country.
