The Young Justice: Meet Donald Trump's Pick to Replace Justice Scalia

image
Published: 31 Jan, 2017
Updated: 17 Oct, 2022
1 min read

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday evening that his pick to fill the late Justice Antonin Scalia's vacant seat on the Supreme Court is Judge Neil Gorsuch. Gorsuch, 49, currently serves on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Colorado, and was appointed by President George W. Bush.

CNN reported Tuesday that two finalists were flown to Washington ahead of the president's primetime announcement, Gorsuch and Third Circuit Judge Thomas Hardiman -- also a Bush appointee.

For those keeping an eye on Twitter, a new account was created with Gorsuch's name hours ahead of the announcement with the handle, @JusticeNGorsuch. Who created it has not been verified as the account calls him an "Associate Justice of the Supreme Court" before he has even been given a confirmation hearing.

The account raised plenty of eyebrows as another account was created for Hardiman.

Hardiman's account was not as presumptuous, though, calling him a "Nominee for Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court."

Minutes before the formal announcement, Gorsuch's account thanked President Trump for the nomination:

https://twitter.com/JusticeNGorsuch/status/826593123866382337

IVP Donate

Neither account was verified by Twitter ahead of the announcement.

Despite the last minute, reality-tv-style drama, Gorsuch ended up being Trump's finalist. He believes in a literal interpretation of the constitution and according to a study led by Mercer University law Professor Jeremy Kidd, is very similar to Scalia, a nominee Trump promised to deliver on the campaign trail.

If confirmed, Gorsuch would be the youngest member of the Supreme Court by about half a decade. Currently, the youngest member of the high court is Justice Elena Kagan at 56.

Watch the full announcement (start video at 21:00):

Latest articles

Crowd in Time Square.
NYC Exit Survey: 96% of Voters Understood Their Ranked Choice Ballots
An exit poll conducted by SurveyUSA on behalf of the nonprofit better elections group FairVote finds that ranked choice voting (RCV) continues to be supported by a vast majority of voters who find it simple, fair, and easy to use. The findings come in the wake of the city’s third use of RCV in its June 2025 primary elections....
01 Jul, 2025
-
6 min read
A man filling out his election ballot.
Oregon Activist Sues over Closed Primaries: 'I Shouldn't Have to Join a Party to Have a Voice'
A new lawsuit filed in Oregon challenges the constitutionality of the state’s closed primary system, which denies the state’s largest registered voting bloc – independent voters – access to taxpayer-funded primary elections. The suit alleges Oregon is denying the voters equal voting rights...
01 Jul, 2025
-
3 min read
Supreme Court building.
Supreme Court Sides with Federal Corrections Officers in Lawsuit Over Prison Incident
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 30 that federal prison officers and officials cannot be sued by an inmate who accused them of excessive force during a 2021 incident, delivering a victory for federal corrections personnel concerned about rising legal exposure for doing their jobs....
01 Jul, 2025
-
3 min read