President Donald Trump named a conservative federal appeals court judge, Neil Gorsuch, to the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday. Gorsuch, 49, is the youngest nominee for the Supreme Court in 25 years. If confirmed by the Senate, he likely will be able to influence important legal issues for many years to come. But he faces strong opposition from Democrats who said the post should have gone to former President Barack Obama’s nominee. Trump said he made the right choice. “Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support," Trump said. It was Trump’s first televised address from the White House. As a candidate for president, Trump released the names of 21 judges supported by a conservative judicial group, the Federalist Society. He promised to appoint judges ready to overturn a 1973 Supreme Court ruling that gave women the right to abortions. Supreme Court will likely rule on important issues The U.S. Supreme Court has the final say on many important legal cases. It has and likely will rule again on issues such as abortion rights, the right to own guns, environmental regulations and religious freedoms. The nomination of Gorsuch will not change the narrow Supreme Court majority that protect a women’s right to abortion. But if another vacancy occurs, the court could end up with a majority willing to reverse the decision. And another vacancy would not be unexpected, given that three current Supreme Court justices who have supported abortion rights are over 78-years old. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 83, Anthony Kennedy is 80 and Stephen Breyer is 78. Gorsuch is a judge on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Colorado. He was approved by a voice vote in the Senate to the court in 2006. The voice vote signaled that his appointment by President George W. Bush was not considered controversial. In one high-profile case, Gorsuch ruled against the Obama administration by saying that employers cannot be required to provide birth control as part of health insurance policies. The case was brought by businesses that said they opposed birth control on religious grounds. Speaking at the White House, Gorsuch said that a judge should rule, not based on his or her opinions, but based on the law and the U.S. Constitution. Democrats to oppose the nomination The usual nine-member U.S. Supreme Court has been down one justice, since Justice Antonin Scalia died in February, 2016. Republicans refused to hold hearings for Obama’s choice to replace Scalia, Judge Merrick Garland, saying the court choice should go to the winner of the 2016 presidential election. Republicans have a 52-48 advantage over Democrats in the U.S. Senate. But under current rules, Republicans would need 60 votes to stop a Democratic filibuster. Some Democrats are promising strong opposition. Senator Jeff Merkley is a Democrat from Oregon. He said the nomination was stolen from President Obama. “Think about what is at stake: legal abortion, marriage equality, voting rights, the dark money corruption of our ‘We the People’ government, and so much more,” Merkley said. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will hold hearings on the nomination. He praised Gorsuch as “universally respected.” “By all accounts, he has a record of deciding cases based on the text of the Constitution and the law,” Grassley said. “That’s important because in our system of government, Congress, not judges, make the laws.” Trump said Tuesday his promise to appoint a conservative to the Supreme Court was the major reason millions of voters chose him over Democrat Hillary Clinton. Laurence Baum, an Ohio State political science professor, said that may well be the case. Baum said some conservative religious voters might have had concerns about Trump’s qualifications and his character. But they voted for him in large numbers because they believed he gave them their best chance in decades to, if not outlaw, to put big limits on abortions. Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and share your views on our Facebook Page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story outstanding – adj. extremely good brilliant – adj. very smart tremendous – adj. very good discipline – n. a way of behaving that shows a willingness to obey rules or orders bipartisan – adj. supported by members of both political parties, Democrat and Republican abortion – n. a medical procedure used to end a pregnancy and cause the death of the fetus vacancy – n. an opening high profile – phrase meaning that it attracts a lot of attention filibuster – n. to delay a vote, often by speaking for a long time stake – n. an interest in how things turn out
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