Washington D.C., Apr 7, 2017 / 10:08 am
Pro-life and religious freedom advocates cheered the Senate's confirmation of Judge Neil Gorsuch on Friday to the U.S. Supreme Court, filling an almost 14 month-long vacancy.
"As Catholics, we welcome the confirmation of a judge whose record adheres to the Constitutional right to free exercise of religion without government bullying and whose scholarship affirms the inherent dignity in all people," Ashley McGuire, senior fellow with The Catholic Association, said on Friday.
Judge Gorsuch of the Tenth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was tapped by President Donald Trump on February 1 to fill a vacancy left on the bench by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February 2016.
While President Barack Obama had nominated Merrick Garland, chief judge of the D.C. circuit court, to fill Scalia's seat, the Republican-led Senate refused to vote on his confirmation, saying they would wait until after the presidential election to confirm a nominee from the new president.