Trump Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch starts confirmation hearings

By Chris Eger

Gorsuch is led to his seat by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley on Monday to begin his confirmation hearings. (Photo: judiciary.senate.gov)
Judge Neil Gorsuch made his first appearance before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Monday for three days of confirmation hearings to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
President Trump nominated Gorsuch in February to fill the empty seat left open for 11 months after Republicans stonewalled President Obama’s nominee.
Judiciary Committee chair, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, showed Gorsuch his seat as was customary and opened the proceedings by speaking of the late Justice Scalia before moving on to address the matter at hand. In his opening statement, the senator spoke to the separation of powers– holding the Obama administration often overstepped its regulatory authority for eight years– and the responsibility of the judiciary to hold both Presidents and lawmakers to the Constitution.
“Fortunately for every American, we have before us today a nominee whose body of professional work is defined by an unfailing commitment to these principles,” said Grassley. “His grasp on the separation of powers—including judicial independence—enlivens his body of work.”
The top Democrat on the committee, U.S. Sen.  Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., was blunt in her opening statement about the “unprecedented

Source: Guns.com