Justice Scalia, it is said, lamented the absence of a “genuine Westerner” on the Supreme Court, writes Ilya Shapiro, a senior fellow in constitutional studies at the Cato Institute. In nominating Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court, Trump is filling the void Antonin Scalia was referring to.

Gorsuch is best known for his opinions supporting religious liberty and pushing back on the administrative state. These will be a focus of his confirmation hearings.

He’s an elegant writer, one with a penchant for clear yet memorable turns of phrase, like Scalia. “There’s an elephant in the room with us today,” he wrote in reference to the excessive deference judges pay to executive agencies. “Maybe the time has come to face the behemoth.”

Ilya notes, President Trump’s list of potential court nominees is notable for its “geographic breadth and professional depth. Yet even on that star-studded list, Gorsuch was a superstar.”

Ilya Shapiro discusses Trump’s SCOTUS pick in Neil Gorsuch on FBN’s Countdown to the Closing Bell with Liz Claman