Blumenthal Meets with Supreme Court Nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, met today with President Trump’s nominee for the United States Supreme Court, Judge Neil Gorsuch. Judge Gorsuch currently serves on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

“As the nominee of a President who has viciously attacked the independence of the judiciary and declared multiple litmus tests for justices, Judge Gorsuch has a special responsibility to reassure the American people that he will be an open-minded and independent jurist. Behind closed doors, Judge Gorsuch expressed disappointment with President Trump’s attacks on the judiciary, but a Supreme Court Justice must prove that he has the courage and independence to stand up to a President in public. I asked Judge Gorsuch to make that statement publicly, and he declined. If he wants the American people to believe that he is truly independent, Judge Gorsuch must tell them in no uncertain terms that President Trump’s attacks are not just disappointing – they are abhorrent and destructive to our Constitutional system – and he must condemn them publicly,” Blumenthal said.

 “I appreciated Judge Gorsuch visiting me, but I was disappointed that he was not more forthcoming and specific in a number of his responses to my questions. To quote Judge Gorsuch from one of his own opinions, ‘there’s an elephant in the room with us today.’ Here, it’s President Trump. President Trump has said he will only nominate someone who is ‘pro-life,’ ‘pro-Second Amendment,’ and of ‘conservative bent.’ Judge Gorsuch must state his own views or else we will be left to assume that he meets the Trump litmus test. Unfortunately, Judge Gorsuch’s noncommittal responses in our meeting today did nothing to allay my concerns that he will simply rubber stamp President Trump’s destructive policies.”