The 'Bonkers' Plan to Set Up Matt Gaetz As Attorney General
We Know Why Kamala Skipped Joe Rogan's Podcast
We Know Who Leaked Israel's Attack Plans Against Iran
Pocahontas Way Off Reservation on Hegseth Attack
Connecticut Teacher Resigns After Video of Her Threatening to Kill Trump Voters Goes...
Feds Raid Home of Polymarket CEO After Betting Site Predicted Trump Win
After Trump Win, Owner of LA Times Makes Major Change at the Paper
Israel Reportedly Planning Foreign Policy 'Gift' for Trump
Revealed: How Bob Casey and His Lawyers Are Trying to Steal an Election...
Hundreds of Explicit Books Have Been Expunged From Schools in This State
George Clooney Whines About Being Used As a 'Scapegoat' Following Harris' Loss
'God-tier Kind of Trolling': John Fetterman Shares His Thoughts on Trump’s Cabinet Picks
This NYT Post-Election Focus Group of Young Voters Is Brutal for the Media...and...
There's Been an Update About 'Peanut the Squirrel'
FEMA Director to Be Brutally Grilled in Back-to-Back House Hearings
Tipsheet

Gorsuch Asks His First Questions as SCOTUS Justice, Gets Compliments from Reuters and the NYT

New Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch waited only 15 minutes before asking his first questions in a case dealing with employment discrimination Monday. 

Advertisement

Not only did he ask questions, but he was confident enough in his constitutional prowess to challenge the lawyers in the room.

The case before the justices involved a technical issue about the process for a federal worker to appeal his discrimination claim. Gorsuch asked the worker's lawyer Christopher Landau four questions in a row about the wording of a statute, saying he was "sorry for taking up so much time."

Gorsuch later sparred with Justice Department lawyer Brian Fletcher over the meaning of the Civil Service Reform Act, sticking to his reputation for focusing on the text of the law.

"Wouldn't it be a lot easier if we just followed the plain text of the statute," Gorsuch asked.

Reuters reporters noted Gorsuch's "composure" and "confidence" throughout his first day on the bench. The New York Times had a similarly positive review.

Advertisement
If Justice Gorsuch experienced first-day jitters, he did not betray them. He was an exceptionally active questioner, displaying an easy familiarity with the issues in the minor and technical cases before the court. He asked crisp and colloquial questions, and he kept asking them if he did not find the lawyers’ answers satisfactory.

Perhaps the most anticipated case Gorsuch will hear this week is Trinity Lutheran v. Comer on Wednesday, which will consider whether a religious preschool in Missouri should have access to a taxpayer funded state program that helps improve playgrounds. Religious freedom advocates will be watching that one closely. 

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Recommended

Trending on Townhall Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement