. whenjustice antonin scalia passed away suddenly last fairjury antonin scalia passed away suddenly lastfairjury are antonin scalia passed away suddenly last fairjury are made a promise to the american people. if i were elected president i would find the very bestjudge in the country for the supreme court. i promised to select someone who respects our laws and is representative of our constitution and who loves our constitution, and someone who will interpret them as written. this may be the most transparentjudicial selection process in history. months ago as a candidate, i publicly presented a list of brilliant and accomplished people to the american electorate and pledged to make my choice from among that list. millions of voters said this was the single most important issue to them when they voted for me for president. i am a man of my word. i will do as i say. something that the people have been asking for from washington for a very, very long time. today... applause. thank you. today i emptied in another promise to the american people —— today i am keeping another promise t

late, great justice antonin scalia whose image and genius was in my mind throughout the decision-making process. not only are we looking at the writings of the nominee-- and i studied them closely-- but he is said to be among the finest and most brilliant, oftentimes the writings of any judge for a long, long time. and his academic credentials, something very important to me, and education has always been a priority, are as good as i have ever seen. he received his undergraduate degree from columbia with honors. he then received his law degree from harvard, also with honors, where he was a truman scholar. after harvard, he received his doctorate at oxford, where he attended, as a marshall scholar, one of the top academic honors anywhere in the world. after law school, he clerked on the supreme court for both justices byron white and anthony kennedy. it is an extraordinary resume, as good as it gets. judge gorsuch was born and raised in colorado and was taught the value of independence, hard work, and public service. while in law school, he demonstrated a commitment to helping the

c-span radio app. president trump announced his choice to replace antonin scalia on the supreme court. -- gorsuch.cor such president trump: thank you. thank you very much. thank you. thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. when justice scalia passed away suddenly last february, i made a promise to the american people. if i were elected president, i would find the very best judge in the country for the supreme court. i promised to select someone who respects our laws into his representative of our constitution and two loves our constitution and someone who would interpret them as written. this might be the most transparent judicial process in history. months ago as a candidate, i publicly presented a list of brilliant and accomplished people to the american electorate and alleged to make my choice from among that list. millions of of voters said this was the single most important issue to them when they voted for me for president. i am a man of my word. i will do as i say. something the american people have been asking for from washington for a very, very long time. [applause]

court vacated by the death of justice antonin scalia in february of 2016. we're opening up our phone lines to hear from you, your reactions. send is a tweet at @cspan. we will read them in the next 10 or 15 minutes. reaction from capitol hill. senate democratic leader chuck schumer posting a statement. schumer, judge gorsuch has repeatedly sided with corporations over working people." now more than ever a supreme court justice that is independent and who will preserve our democracy backed and standing up to a president who is already shown a willingness to bend the constitution. we will hear from frederick in louisiana. caller: thank you very much. i have a question. i don't know whether you can answer it or not. i've been told the supremelouis. caller: thank you very court up between up between members that are jewish and catholic, roman catholic. do you know what religion this nominee is? host: i don't know. i do know he went to a catholic boy's high school in the washington area. underther servedis divided president reagan in the environmental protection agency, but i don't know h

being made between this judge and the former and late judge antonin scalia. samenessoday about the between the two. judge gorsuch is like justice scalia and considered a talented writer and he hasn't been afraid to draft opinions that raise the profile of difficult legal issues. just a bit of the philosophy of the judge. we will be learning more about him as we go along. we want to get your thoughts. 202-748-8001 for republicans. 202-748-8000 for democrats. .or independents, 202-748-8002 a lot of reaction to the nomination of this judge, judge neil gorsuch for the supreme court. >> some news on the new supreme court nominee's schedule already this morning. has his first capitol hill visit as supreme court nominee today with mitch mcconnell. he will be accompanied by vice president mike pence. one metric last night showing the level of interest in the supreme court nomination here and around the world could be seen on twitter. twitter sending out some stats last night. neil gorsuch was the number one worldwide trend on twitter last night. tweets sent in one minute. was the number on

mold of not only justice thomas but also of the late and great justice antonin scalia. [applause] vice pres. pence: it was such a special night earlier this week, when we were joined not only by our nominee and his wife but also by the widow of justice scalia and his son, who was with us there to share that moment. justice antonin scalia's devotion to the constitution will be forever remembered by the people of the united states of america. [applause] vice pres. pence: but this was trump's promise, and make no mistake about it, my friends, in the federalist society, we're in the promise-keeping business in washington, d.c. now. before i say anything more, it behooves us to remember justice scalia's legacy and honor his memory. we all knew justice scalia. the federalist society actually owes him a great deal. justice scalia was one of its first faculty mentors in the early 1980's, i'm told, at the university of chicago. our country owes a great deal to him, too. his incomparable opinions, even more his incisive dissents, will stand the test of time, influencing future generations of law

with us there to share that moment. justice antonin scalia's devotion to the constitution will be forever remembered by the people of the united states of america. [applause] vice pres. pence: but this was president trump's promise, and make no mistake about it, my friends, in the federalist society, we're in the promise-keeping business in washington, d.c. now. before i say anything more, it behooves us to say justice scalia's memory and honor. we all knew justice scalia. the federalist society actually owes him a great deal. justice scalia was one of its first faculty mentors in the early 1980's, i'm told, at the university of chicago. our country owes a great deal to him too. his incomparable opinions, his incisive dissents will stand the test of time, influencing future generations of lawyers through his wit and wisdom. as his successor said the other night, america misses justice scalia greatly and i know we'll always cherish him in our hearts. would you mind getting to your feet and just showing how much we appreciate the life and work and memory of the late justice antonin

is a crucial ninth seat on the evenly divided seat, vacant since the death of antonin scalia. president obama nominated judge merrick garland but senator republicans refused to consider the nomination arguing it should fall to the next president. democrats still raw over that move, some vow to filibuster whoever trump nominates setting up another fierce battle in this already tumultuous term. in a reality show twist, president trump has kept suspense high right up to the last minute. our chief white house correspondent john karl in the east room. john, we've never seen anything like this. it's happened not one but two finalists are heading to washington. >> reporter: george, the president wanted to build up anticipation but it doesn't need any buildup. for all he has done, this will likely be the most consequential decision he has made as president. the two finalists coming into today's date are judge neil gorsuch from the tenth circuit court of appeals and judge thomas hardiman of the third circuit court of appeals. i have been told judge gorsuch has been the front-runner in this. he's

the ultime she is the ultimate representative of the late great justice antonin scalia whose image and genius was in my mind throughout the decision making process. not only are we looking at the writings of the nominee, and i studied them closely. but he is said to be among the finest and most brilliant, oftentimes the writings of any judge for a long, long time. and his academic credentials, something very important to me in that education has always been a priority, are as good as i have ever seen. he received his undergraduate degree from columbia with honors. he then received his law degree from harvard. also with hostages. where he was a truman scholar. after harvard he received his doctorate at oxford where he attended as a marshal scholar. one of the top academic honors anywhere in the world. after law school, he clerked on the supreme court for both justices byron white and anthony kennedy. it is an extraordinary resume. as good as it gets. judge gorsuch was born and raised in colorado. and was taught the value of independence, hard work and public service. while in law sc

great justice antonin scalia whose image and genius was in my mind throughout the decision-making process. not only are we looking at the writings of the nominee, and i studied them closely, but he's said to be among the finest, most brilliant of any judge for a long, long time. and his academic credentials, something very important to me. education has always been a priority, are as good as i have ever seen. he received his undergraduate degree from columbia with honors. he then received his law degree from harvard, also with honors where he was a truman scholar. after harvard he received his doctorate at oxford where he attended as a marshall scholar. one of the top academic honors anywhere in the world. after law school he clerked on the supreme court for justices byron white and anthony kennedy. it's an extraordinary resume. as good as it gets. judge gorsuch was born and raised in colorado. and was taught the value of independence, hard work and public service. while in law school he demonstrated a commitment to helping the less fortunate. he worked in both harvard prison lega

. she's really the ultimate representative of the late great justice antonin scalia whose image and genius was in my mind throughout the decision making process. not only are we looking at the writings of the nominee, and i studied them closely, but he is said to be among the finest and the most brilliant, often time the writings of any judge for a long time. his academic credentials, something very important to me -- education has always been a priority -- are as good as i have ever seen. he received his undergraduate degree from columbia with honors. he then received his law degree from harvard, also with honors. he was a truman scholar. after harvard, he received his oxford, where he attended as a marshall scholar. one of the top academic honors anywhere in the world. after law school, he clerked at the supreme court for both justices byron white and anthony kennedy. it is an extraordinary resume. as good as it gets. judge gorsuch was born and raised in colorado and was taught the value of independence, hardware, in public service. hard work and public service. while in law schoo

great justice antonin scalia whose image and genius was in my mind throughout the decision-making process. not only are we looking at the writings of the nominee, and i studied them closely, but he's said to be among the finest, most brilliant of any judge for ntials, long time. something very important to me. education has always been a priority, are as good as i have ever seen. he received his undergraduate degree from columbia with honors. he then received his law degree from harvard, also with honors where he was a truman scholar. after harvard he received his doctorate at oxford where he attended as a marshall scholar. one of the top academic honors anywhere in the world. after law school he clerked on the supreme court for justices byron white and anthony kennedy. it's an extraordinary resume. as good as it gets. judge gorsuch was born and raised in colorado. and was taught the value of independence, hard work and public service. while in law school he demonstrated a commitment to helping the less fortunate. he worked in both harvard prison legal assistance projects and harv

conservative, he fill the seat left vacant by the death last year of antonin scalia, who was then the right‘s most powerful voice on the high court. this is how president trump made the announcement. whenjustice antonin scalia passed away suddenly last february, i made a promise to the american people. if i were elected president, i would find the very bestjudge in the country for the supreme court. i promised to select someone who respects our laws and is representative of our constitution and who loves our constitution, and someone who will interpret them as written. this may be the most transparent judicial selection process in history. months ago as a candidate, i publicly presented a list of brilliant and accomplished people to the american electorate and pledged to make my choice from among that list. millions of voters said this was the single most important issue to them when they voted for me for president. i am a man of my word. i will do as i say. something that the people have been asking for from washington for a very, very long time. today... applause. thank you. t

court? >> the justice he is replacing is antonin scalia he was truly a lien of the law. extraordinary conservative, someone i knew and respected. i believe that judge gorsuch is likely to follow in the pattern of justice scalia. following the law, vigorously defending the bill of rights. whether religious, second amendment, our basic rights protected under the constitution. what that means it's it will maintain the balance of power in the supreme court. if hillary clinton had been elected and a judicial activist had been elected, we would've lost much of our fundamental liberties. we would've lost or our second amendment rights would've been in peril. i believe based on his record, judge gorsuch will respect federalism and separate separaf power. i will tell you a story, when antonin scalia was nominated to court of appeals, he got a call from his family priest back in new jersey. the priest said nino, the fbi called and they are asking questions about you but do not worry, i did not tell them anything. >> tucker: [laughs] that's pretty good. i think a lot of conservatives, certainly

court left vacant by the death of antonin scalia a. . getting your comments. twitter, it is @cspan. a member of the judiciary committee, we will hear from judge gorsuch, it is mike lee from utah. he says we are ready to get to work to get judge gorsuch confirmed. and were joined by ben sass senator ted cruz. we continue to watch the gathering of the east room in the white house. go ahead. caller: hi. i love watching c-span, first of all, because you really show everything. that president donald trump did a fabulous job. i know we put a lot of effort into looking into his candidate and i feel really good about who he picked. i hope we can come together because i think if we reach across the table, it will stuff the vision. because we are not in a good place in thisi know w. thank you for letting me express my opinion. i respect c-span very much and i respect the people that call in. host: breaking up a bit but we will let you go. we see senator john cornyn there. it is anne on the democrats line. caller: hi. host: go ahead. you are on the air. caller: i want to say america are got -- m

supreme court pick to fill the seat of antonin scalia. this is the second individual who will be nominated for that seat. the first, merrick garland, who never got a hearing. let's listen to the president. >> thank you. thank you very much. [ applause ] thank you. thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. when justice scalia passed away suddenly last february i made a promise to the american people, if i were elected president i would find the very best judge in the country for the supreme court. i promised to select someone who respects our laws and is representative of our constitution and who loves our constitution and someone who will interpret them as written. this may be the most transparent judicial selection process in history. months ago as a candidate i publicly presented a list of brilliant and established people to the american electorate and pledged to make my choice from among that list. millions of voters said this was the single most important issue to them when they voted for me for president. i am a man of my word. i will do as i say, something that the america

justice antonin scalia exactly 352 days ago. senate republicans vowed to block anyone president barack obama chose to succeed him and that's what they did, refusing to hold a confirmation hearing for supreme court nominee judge merrick garland. it worked and now there's a republican in the white house. joining me from the east room where president trump will announce his choice, msnbc national correspondent peter alexander. give me a sense of what it's like. >> we got the two-minutetelepro. this room is filled with republicans right now, the leadership is here. also donald trump's inner circle, steve bannon, reince priebus, kellyanne conway, all in this room. in addition what's notable is his two adult sons don, jr., and eric trump are also in this room. this is an announcement that has been heavily filled with suspense. remember when the announcement of the vice presidential pick back in the day came out? we found out on thursday who it would be but it got delayed. they've been much more disciplined this time around. >> and we'll now listen to the president of the united states introd

death of antonin scalia. president obama's nominee was blocked last year by the republican—controlled congress. sarah corker reports. there was a hint of reality tv drama. president donald trump's nominee for the supreme court revealed during a prime time televised address. today, i am keeping another promise to the american people by nominating judge neil gorsuch. supreme court justices are appointed for life. president trump's choice, a staunch conservative judge who will help shape law for years to come on things like gun control and human rights. —— and religious rights. he has a tremendous mind and tremendous discipline. he has earned bipartisan support. what do we know about judge neil gorsuch? he's 49 and lives in denver, colorado. a graduate of columbia university and harvard law school. he served on the 10th us circuit court of appeal since 2006 and used to work with george w bush's justice department. he is most noted for his strong defence of religious freedom. the court's work is vital to the protection of people's liberties and law. the continuity of our constitution,

refused to consider the vacancy caused by the death of justice antonin scalia. rex taylor said is about to become secretary of state. senate expected to confirm the ceo and a final vote today despite demands by some democrats to question rex tillerson one more time to get the controversial immigration order. a couple of text apps today. apple one of them but three straight quarters of declining iphone sales ring back with the fourth quarter and demands to the iphone seven and seven plus and facebook reporting latest numbers. earnings and revenue for five straight quarters. the markets overall with the rebound after two triple digit losses. s&p also 1% tacking on half a percent this morning. nicole: as lauren mentioned from the democrats preparing for a fierce fight over judge neil gorsuch nomination. the ndcith details on what we can expect next. >> good morning to you. this could be the most contentious of president trumps nomination. during his introduction, president trump is living up to his promise to nominate someone for the constitution. judge gorsuch was confirmed unanimously by th

replace the late antonin scalia with someone who would be, quote, scalia reincarnated. terry, a lot of comparisons tot late justice scalia. >> reporter: absolutely. promise kept by president trump on this score. there is no question that neil gorsuch has modeled his career on justice scalia. he sticks to the letter and text of the law and its original meaning and it doesn't bring in the way society might have changed. he is a very scalia-esque judge. >> even his writings have been compared to him, and clear, and routinely entertaining as well. >> reporter: he is a fine writer. there is a big difference between judge neil gorsuch and antonin scalia. there is nothing for that scalia liked than a good fight, and you knew you were in fight with him, and gorsuch has a much warmer personality on the page and in person. this was in the east room of the white house. it was quite a moment. >> reporter: in the east room tonight, president trump -- >> thank you. thank you very much. >> reporter: enjoying the presume time spotlight as he announced his supreme court pick. judge neil gorsuch. >> so

once held by the late justice antonin scalia, who died about a year ago. before that choice has been named, some democrats are already threatening to block this nomination no matter what. they are accusing republicans of stealing the seat because they refused to grant president obama's nominee, merrick garland, a hearing at all. we will examine all of this tonight. in moments, we talked to mike lee, he was also on the president's list of 21 that was released in the summer. we will also be joined by charles krauthammer. first, let's talk to shannon bream, reporting live as she has throughout the day from the steps of the supreme court. shannon, good evening to you. >> hi, martha. as you mentioned, we are down to two federal judges. judge neil gorsuch. he is the one with a sterling resume. you look at him on paper and his friends and supporters say come and practice, as well, he went to columbia, harvard, got her doctorate at oxford. he is very well respected. here is a little bit about his feeling on justice scalia. he was giving a speech last year at case western reserve in cleveland

. take a look about what he said on a regionalism during a lecture about justice antonin scalia last year. >> text, structure and history is essential to being a good judge. yes, they should be in the business of declaring what the law is using judicial tools of interpretation, not what they wish the law to be. always with an eye on the outcome, some calculation of pleasures and pains along the way. >> sean: joining us now with reaction, leonard leo, one of the people that advised president trump on this decision. welcome to the program. glad to have you. >> great to be here. >> sean: you and a lot of prominent judicial scholars were asked to look for certain candidates that fit this meaning of a constitutionalist, an originalist. maybe some americans are hearing these terms for the firstma tim. how would you best define those terms and differentiate originalism from judicial activism? >> first of all, the way to think about it is a judge has a deep sense of fairness and f a sense of impartiality. when he is grounded in text and original meaning of the constitution, he is putting the

could replace, justice antonin scalia, and he believes as scalia did in the literal interpretation of the constitution. >> the world suffered a seismic shock with the loss of justice scalia. >> reporter: they were good friends, seen recently fishing together. just weeks after scalia's sudden death last february gorsuch spoke about getting the news while skiing. >> i immediately lost what breath i had left and i'm not embarrassed to admit that i couldn't see the rest of the way down the mountain for the tears. >> reporter: judge gorsuch's legal opinions on religious liberty attracted the attention of those helping trump make his pick. in the hobby lobby case he sided with the corporations who claim the so-called contraceptive mandate in obamacare violated their religious beliefs. he also wrote an opinion in a separation of powers case holding that too much deference was given by the courts to administrative agencies. and he penned a book arguing against assisted suicide and euthanasia. he writes, "the idea that all human beings are intrinsically valuable and the intentional taking o

thought into antonin scalia's seat has had open for nearly a year now. the announcement just moments away. bill o'reilly coming up next. ♪ ♪ >> bill: hi, i am bill o'reilly, reporting from los angeles. thanks for watching us tonight. you are looking at a live picture from the white house, we where just moments from now, president trump will announce his supreme court selection. the present and the proposed justice within speak for a few moments. we will bring you everything life as it happens and then, have analysis with our fox news team. and the reason that this is so important is because the shape of the country will be decided by the supreme court. and americans voted for a president based upon knowing that. if you look at the polls, for example, among white evangelical christians, something like 80% of them voted for donald trump because of the supreme court. it is a monumental occurrence that you are about to hear from the white house. why is that? because unfortunately, in our divided country, there are now four liberal justices and four either conservative or moderate tra

court nominee to fill t seat vie kated the court by the death of antonin scalia. or not. even before former president obama named his nominee, even before he named judge merrick garland, republicans announced that they would hold open the scalia seat. they would not hold hearings for any obama nominee no matter who the president picked they were not going to consider his nominee. honestly because the president is a democrat and they didn't believe they had to and so they believed they would not thank you very much. and that has never been happened in our country. not like that. but tonight that radical decision, not a radical decision by donald trump but a radical decision by the republican party in the senate, tonight that radical act by congressional republicans it bore fruit -- awkwardly phrased fruit, a little hiccup in the execution in the end but still. >> today i am keeping another promise to the american people by nominating judge neil gorsuch of the united states supreme court to be of the united states supreme court. >> nominating judge neil gorsuch -- yeah. it was -- the a

thank you for watching it here. antonin scalia, nino to his friends, he was beloved by his fellow supreme court justices. even the justices who disagreed with him the most, perhaps especially the justices who disagreed with him the most in terms of their day jobs. they loved his company. justice scalia and justice ruth bader ginsburg they shared a love of opera. justice scalia and justice elena kagan, they went hunting and fishing together. justice scalia was deeply and antagonistally and provocatively conservative. he was also witty, he was also apparently really fun to be with and he lived an active life. he also had heart trouble. and last february almost a year ago he died in his sleep. he was at a swanky hunting lodge in texas only about 30 miles from the u.s./mexico border and it was a shock when he died. it was a very, very sad loss for his family and in friends. it was also, of course, a political shock because his death was a surprise and it opened up a surprise vacancy on the supreme court. and with almost exactly a year left in his presidency we learned that barack obam

, president trump is going to announce his supreme court pick to replace antonin scalia. looking forward to a spirited debate about the foundation of our democracy. the way that the constitution is supposed to be carried out by the judicial branch. i think it's important to note right now that you've already got senate democrats saying that they're going to oppose president trump's pick for the supreme court before they even know who it is. that's an incredible level of irresponsibility by senate democrats who should be looking to carry out their role of advise and consent, instead of prejudging somebody before they even know who it's going to be. i would hope that the senate does their job and senate democrats that are trying to block president trump's agenda would actually allow him to carry out his job and just look at his picks for cabinet secretaries. at this point in barack obama's tenure as president in his first term, just in his first week, barack obama had 11 of his 15 cabinet secretaries already confirmed and working for the american people. today trump only has two of

justice thomas, but also of the late and great justice antonin scalia. [ applause ] it was such a special night, earlier this week when we were joined not only by our nominee and his wife. but also by the widow of justice scalia and his son, who was with us there and shared that moment. justice antonin scalia's devotion to the constitution will be forever remembered by the people of the united states of america. [ applause ] but this was president trump's promise. and make no mistake about it, my friends, in the federalist society we're in the promise keeping business in washington, d.c. now. before i say anymore, it behooves us to remember justice scalia's legacy and honor his memory. we all knew the late justice, some of you personally, others through his titanic impact on our nation's laws. the federalist society actually owes him a great deal. justice scalia was one of the first faculty mentors in the 1980's i'm told at the university of chicago. our country owes a great deal to him too. his incomparable opinions, even more his incisive dissents. has his successor said the oth

favorite justices was justice antonin scalia and clarence thomas. a lot of democrats that believe in a regionalism have been disappointed. and the one case, obamacare, even the chief justice. can you assure conservatives tonight that this justice is like scalia, like thomas and you wouldn't expect any surprises? >> what i see and judge gorsuch is a very important quality that gets you there. that is courage. courage and independence, the willingness to stick to your guns, to make decisions that have to be made that sometimes you may not agree with. that is what he has. if you look at his opinions, he has never hesitated to dissent on a separate opinion when the meaning of the constitution or the text of the constitution needed to be elaborated and that the majority of the court did not do that. i think we are seeing in him very much an extension of justice scalia's legacy. >> sean: i actually tweeted out a picture tonight, it's interesting, antonin scalia and now the nominee judge gorsuch together. he seems to almost be -- i don't know if this is the right word, he seemed very enamor

replace supreme court justicce antonin scalia who passed away.tom del beccaro / former chairman california republican party sot - he's very well liked..it's the next supreme court justice where they're going to fight tooth and nailgorsuch will have a hearing in front of the senate judiciary committee, which is majority republican. he will still need left wing votes.dean john trasvina /usf school of law sot - there are still steps in the process where this nomination could get derailed, or it could get uglydemocrats are already threatening to filibuster the nomination. there's still tension after former president barack obama nominated merrick garland - who wasn't considered at all by the republicans. some say gorsuch isn't a far cry from his predecessor . sot - he's replacing justice scalia who was the most far right.his views won't really change the composition of the supreme court.james taylor / usf professor sot - he has a moderating effect and that's what he represents..if you're ideological it doesn't matter what, because it's coming from trump, but if you're down the middl

death of antonin scalia almost a year ago. this morning judge gorsuch will head to capitol hill for his first meetings with the u-s senate. karin caifa is in washington with a closer look at the potential ninth supreme court justice and the hurdles he may face. a trump white house that's been very chaotic over the last 10 days managed to keep this pick largely under wraps until last night's primetime announcement. neil gorsuch has an impressive legal resume and academic credentials but senate democrats have their way, he's also got a big battle ahead of him.president trump: it is an extraordinary resume. as good as it as good as it gets.president trump in the east room of the white house introduced neil gorsuch to the nation in prime time tuesday night, his first supreme court pick.neil gorsuch / supreme court nominee: mr. president, i am honored and i am humbled. at 49 years old, gorsuch is the youngest supreme court nominee in 25 years. he currently serves on the tenth circuit court of appeals colorado, nominated in 2006 by george w. bush, after a stint at the department of justic

, donald trump is about to make. he'll be naming his choice to replace the late antonin scalia on the u.s. supreme court. tonight with his two finalists summoned to washington, d.c., the president has scheduled a primetime made for television event to reveal his choice that will add more fuel to a week already em blazed in controversy. >> reporter: president trump teased the coming attraction. >> we'll be announcing a supreme court justice who i think everybody is going to be very, very we'll see you at about 8:00. >> reporter: he invited both finalists to washington for the rare primetime event. two solid conservatives, neil gorsuch and thomas hardiman. mr. trump held off as long as he could before revealing his choice to them. even the chairman didn't know. >> i wish i knew. i wouldn't mind letting the cat out of bag, but i don't know. >> reporter: several officials say they heard the president will choose gorsuch but reserves the right to change his mind. he will bring a westerner sensibility to the supreme court. conservatives compare him to antonin scalia, someone he admired. >>

philosophy and mold in justice antonin scalia whose death has left the ninth seat empty for 354 days. last night donald trump kept his campaign promise and gorsuch described his cautious approach. >> months ago as a candidate, i publicly presented a list of brilliant and accomplished people to the american electorate and pledged to make my choice from among that list. millions of voters said this was the single most important issue to them when they voted for me for president. i am a man of my word. i will do as i say, something that the american people have been asking for from washington for a very, ver long time. >> a in our legal order, is for congress to write the new laws. it's the role of judges to apply, not alter the role of the people's representatives. a judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge. stretching for results he prefers rather than those the law demands. >> well, the fight is brewing on capitol hill where ideological and partisan battle lines are being drawn, where bitterness persists after no hearings were held for president obama's nom

gorsuch as his pick for the supreme court.. to replace the late justice antonin scalia who passed away nearly a year ago. already, there is mounting opposition and promises from democrats to do everything they can, including filibustering, to block this nomination. abc's elizabeth hur reports from washington. and overnight.. outside the iconic steps of the reagan national airport.. expected following the recent travel ban implemented by president trump. demonstrators say they will gather in solidarity with affected communities to demand that the executive order be overturned immediately. entry to the u-s for refugees from 7 predominately muslim countries has been barred for 120 days. georgia democrat hank johnson and massachusetts democrat mike capuano are expected to attend the rally. developing now.. virginia is joining a federal lawsuit challenging president trump's immigration order. democratic attorney general mark herring announced the lawsuit in richmond yesterday, with governor terry mcauliffe at his side. herring calls the order unlawful and un-american. president trump's

, colorado. serving on the court of appeals there. any say that he is the natural heir to antonin scalia and has a conservative bent. if you look at the decisions, he is or religious freedom and fought to defend the rights of policemen using force. many say that he is the right choice that trump will pick. until donald trump speaks at 8:00 p.m. tonight, we don't know which way he will go. katty: in the big picture, how important is this pick for donald trump? rajini: hugely important because of the balance of the court. at the moment there are 4 liberals and 4 conservatives, though one conservatives is often seen as a swing vote. it is important they get another conservative to replace antonin scalia a. after his death, president obama wanted to appoint a justice called mary ireland --merrick garland, another liberal. the republicans resisted that. president trump is now going to be announcing that tonight. during the campaign, he promised voters, particularly conservative, christian voters, who perhaps were not convinced he would defend their religious values, he promised to pick someone pr

could impact the country for decades, neil gorsuch has ben chosen to replace his friend, antonin scalia. >> reporter: tonight, raj, legal experts say it's likely that senate democrats in washington, d.c. will throw tough questions at gorsuch, some will be fact-finding, others will be political payback. >> the qualifications of judge gorsuch are beyond dispute. >> reporter: president trump introduces his choice for the supreme court, neil gorsuch of colorado. >> as this process moves through the senate i look forward to speaking with colleagues on both sides of the aisle, to answering their questions and hearing concerns. >> reporter: gorsuch must fill the seat left by antonin scalia who had passed away. democrats are angry republicans never allowed a hearing for president obama's nominee, judge merrick garland. now they must decide if fighting trump's nominee is good political strategy. >> because this nominee at least by his record doesn't move the court. >> reporter: he says while gorsuch's judicial record will be considered the real test will be answering those questions he referred to. >> he wil

approach to antonin scalia whom he would replace if confirmed. >> most people are sure where he stands on the hot button issues. >> reporter: which is conservative. >> acutely aware of my own imperfections, i pledge that if i am confirmed, i will do all my powers permit to be a faithful servant of the constitutional laws of this great country. >> reporter: he said public sector unions, including ones in philadelphia, may not like the views on union-based cases. moments after the announcement, the democratic national committee issued this statement. "gorsuch spent his career representing big corporate clients against the interest of ordinary americans and consistently ruling against workers in favor of big businesses." >> judge gor diagnossuch has oug legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline, and has earned bipartisan support. >> reporter: now gorsuch will sit through his confirmation hearings, and democrats are insisting on at least 60 votes to make that confirmation happen. as you know, gorsuch will be replacing antonin scalia, who was appointed. from the time that he was

announcement that he was the pick to feel justice antonin scalia's seat. but during the campaign his name wasn't on the initial list that donald trump released. his name on the second list and we're told recently as people within his circle started scrubbing his judicial record on the federal bench in colorado they liked hadwhat they saw and learned he met with donald trump a few weeks ago and clearly donald trump was impressed by him. conservatives like his track record on federal bench when it comes to religious liberty, separation of powers and he wrote a book saying he didn't believe the law supported assisted suicide. here's what donald trump had a h to say about the nominee tonight. >> i studied every aspect of his life. he could have had any job at any law firm for any amount of money but what wanted to do was be a judge and uphold our laws and constitution. qualifications of judge gorsuch are beyond zpuchlt he's the man of our country and a man who our country really needs and needs badly to ensure the rule of law and the rule of justice. i would like to thank senate leadership, i

] thank you, maureen. she is really the ultimate representative of the late great justice antonin scalia whose image and genius was in my mind throughout the decisionmaking process. not only are we looking at the writings of the nominee, and i studied them closely, but he is said to be among the finest and most brilliant oftentimes the writings of any judge for a long, long time. and his academic credentials, something very important to me in that education has always been a priority, are as good as i have ever seen. he received his undergraduate degree from columbia with honors. he then received his law degree from harvard, also with honors, where he was a truman scholar. after harvard, he received his doctorate at oxford, where he attended as a marshall scholar. one of the top academic honors anywhere in the world. after law school, he clerked on the supreme court for justices byron white and anthony kennedy. it is an extraordinary resume. as good as sit gets. judge gorsuch was born and raised in colorado and was taught the value of hard work and public service. while in law school he demons

, i'm going to pick somebody off this list. gorsuch was the seconds most similar to antonin scalia from the list of 21. when you hear him talk, sea very humble, ernest jurist who goes right down the middle and here he is. you. >> standing here in a house of history and acutely unaware of my own -- i promise if i'm confirmed i will do all my powers permit to be a faithful servant of the constitution and laws of this great country. it's the roughly judges to apply not alter the work of the people's representatives. a judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge. [laughter] stretching for results he prefers rather than what the law demands. i'm so thankful tonight for my family, my friends, and my faith. brian: put it this way, if he didn't get the job i think he would be auditioning for all three networks to be a spokesperson. he is so he. ainsley: so intelligent. brian: give judge napolitano a run for his money, perhaps. who is he? a conservative intellectual like us here on the couch, just 49 years old. he won't went to columbia, harvard, and oxford if you call th

antonin scalia on the supreme court -- judge neil gorsuch. senate democrats have vowed to filibuster the nomination of the conservative jurist. as a judge on the tenth circuit, gorsuch ruled in favor of hobby lobby in the case deciding whether the company could refuse to provide birth control coverage to employees as required by obamacare. judge gorsuch also has a long history of ruling against employees in cases involving federal race, sex, age, disability, and political discrimination and retaliation claims. gorsuch reportedly upheld a decision that denied long-term insurance benefits to a worker who sustained a work-related injury that required spinal surgery. he also reportedly dissented from a ruling in favor of a truck driver whose employer illegally fired him for deserting a trailer so he wouldn't freeze to death. gorsuch is a member of the ultra-conservative federalist society, which believes in severely restricting the power that federal agencies like the environmental protection agency, or epa, have to regulate businesses. gorsuch's own mother, anne gorsuch burford, briefly ser

nominate somebody because of the late and great justice antonin scalia. such a special night. earlier this week. when we were joined not only by our nominee and his wife, but also by the widow of justice scalia and his son, who shared that moment. justice antonin scalia's devotion to the constitution will be fore ever remembered by the people of the united states of america. [ applause ] this was president trump's promise. and make no mistake about it, my friend, we're in the promise keeping business in washington, d.c. now. before i say anymore, behooves us to remember justice scalia's legacy and honor his memory. we all knew the late justice. some personally. others through his impact on our nation's law. the federalist society owes him a great deal. justice scalia was one of its first faculty mentors in the early 1980s i'm told at the university of chicago. our country owes a great deal the him, too. his incomparable opinion, his dissents will stand the test of time, influencing future generations of lawyers through his wit and wisdom. as his successor said to me the other night, a

antonin scalia on the supreme court, then go nuclear. go for simple majority and don't worry about getting 60 votes. how that has become a go "nuclear option" when a simple majority would do on so many other issues and not 60 votes is beyond me. but, but, that is the way it is seen here. with a simple majority be enough. if it comes to that, would it be enough. a number of democrats already said they don't think that, that this should become a big constitutional issue. blake burman on "the nuclear option" at the white house. bke? reporter: hi, there, neil, no doubt about it this is major annocement or major statement from president trump moments ago. you heard it play out, if it gets to that point, does function and gridlock up on capitol hill, specifically the senate stays, the senate suggesting to mitch mcconnell, that he could quote go nuclear. to take a step back from all of this, the whole "nuclear option," you can go back until harry reid, when he was running the senate, invoked "the nuclear option" but kept it in place, a non-"nuclear option," for the supreme court, meaning

antonin scalia and many say would vote like antonin scalia. >> reporter: president trump introduced his nominee during a televised event nominating neil gorsuch of colorado. >> judge gorsuch has a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline. >> reporter: gorsuch is known as a solid conservative. a harvard law grad, close to the philosophy of the late justice antonin scalia. >> i will do everything in my power to be a servant of the laws of this great country. >> reporter: senate democrats are ready for a fight. they're vowing to block this nominee. just like republicans blocked president obama's pick of garland last year. some democrats chose not to attend the president's announcement. >> i don't want to be stand thr- g -- i don't want to stand there in the crowd, they pull back the curtain and say here's your nominee. >> he's 49 years old and so we're going to have a justice as was indicated tonight who's decisions are going to last generations. >> reporter: right after the announcement a small group of demonstrators protested outside the high court. the beginning of what's expected to be a

nomination. last night, judge gorsuch described antonin scalia as a lion of the law. >> i've worked as a federal judge in a court that spans six western states, serving about 20% of the continental united they and about 18 million people. the men and women i have worked with at every level in our circuit are an inspiration to me. i have watched them tending to the rule of law. in forcing the promises of our constitution and living out daily their judicial oaths to administer justice equally to rich and poor alike. ollowing the law is a -- i think of them tonight. the supreme court's work is vital not just to a region of the country, but to the whole. a vital to the protection of the people's liberties under law and the continuity of our constitution. the greatest charter of human ever them. world has the towering judges that have served in this particular seat of the supreme court, including antonin scalia and robert jackson, are much in my mind at this moment. of the scalia was a lion law. agree or disagree with him, all of his colleagues on the bench cherished his wisdom and humor

the seat open since the death of justice antonin scalia. now, if confirmed, the 49-year-old conservative from colorado would be the high court's youngest justice in 25 years. >> well, democrats immediately criticized the nomination, which sparked immediate protests right there overnight at the supreme court. abc's elizabeth hur joining us not far away from washington with more. elizabeth, good morning. >> reporter: kendis and diane, good morning. and, yes, those protests have started, and many democrats say they are ready for a fight, and so president trump, well, he's now urging congress to come together for once. for president trump, his pick for the supreme court is a promise kept. >> judge gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind. >> reporter: describing judge neal gorsuch as, quote, a replica of justice antonin scalia, a solid conservative and well respected. >> he could have had any job at any law firm for any amount of money, but what he wanted to do with his career was to be a judge to write decisions and to make an impact. >> i pledge that if i'm confi