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| Trump picks Neil Gorsuch as nominee for Supreme Court | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| President Donald Trump has unveiled Neil Gorsuch as his nominee for the US Supreme Court. | |
| The 49-year-old is currently a federal appeals court judge sitting in Denver, Colorado. | The 49-year-old is currently a federal appeals court judge sitting in Denver, Colorado. |
| If confirmed, he would replace the vacancy left on the high court by the late Justice Antonin Scalia. | If confirmed, he would replace the vacancy left on the high court by the late Justice Antonin Scalia. |
| The nomination will have to be confirmed by the Senate, where Democrats have threatened to block any candidate seen as too conservative. | The nomination will have to be confirmed by the Senate, where Democrats have threatened to block any candidate seen as too conservative. |
| Mr Trump said Judge Gorsuch had a" superb intellect, an unparalleled legal education, and a commitment to interpreting the Constitution according to text". | |
| "Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline, and has earned bipartisan support," Mr Trump added. | |
| The announcement was made in the East Room of the White House in a primetime address on Tuesday evening. | |
| In accepting the nomination, Judge Gorsuch called the late Justice Scalia, who died a year ago, a "lion of the law". | |
| "Impartiality and independence, collegiality and courage" is what is expected of judges, Judge Gorsuch said. | |
| "I am honoured and I am humbled," he added. | "I am honoured and I am humbled," he added. |
| Judge Gorsuch was picked out of a shortlist of 21 possible choices that Mr Trump made public during the campaign. | |
| The Ivy-League educated jurist has the potential to restore the 5-4 conservative majority on the nine-seat high court. | |
| The youngest Supreme Court pick in a quarter of a century, he is not expected to call into question high-profile rulings on abortion and gay marriage. | |
| He has served on the 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals since 2006. | |
| Judge Gorsuch is favoured by many Republicans, who support his adherence to a strict interpretation of law, much like Scalia. | |
| He is an "originalist", meaning he believes that the US Constitution should be followed as the Founding Fathers intended. | |
| Judge Gorsuch once sided with groups that challenged the Obama administration's requirements for employers to provide health insurance that includes contraception. | |
| Can Democrats block the nomination? | |
| His nomination is expected to spark a political showdown in the Senate. | |
| Former President Barack Obama had put forward Judge Merrick Garland after Justice Scalia's death last February, but Republicans refused to debate the choice because it was too close to an election, they said. | |
| The failure to confirm Mr Obama's selection has left Democrats embittered, claiming that their nominee had been "stolen", and many have vowed to use similar tactics to block Mr Trump's pick. | |
| Even if the nominee makes it through the Senate Judiciary Committee, he will still face challenges when the entire chamber convenes for a final vote. | |
| Democrats may seek to prevent that second vote, by filibustering in order to deny Mr Trump the 60-vote threshold needed to bring the nomination to the floor. | |
| With Republicans only holding 52 Senate seats, they may have to change Senate rules in order to approve Mr Trump's nominee. |