'A Little Bit Of Colorado In Washington': Gorsuch Meets With Gardner
DENVER (CBS4) - At the White House and in front of America, Colorado Judge Neil Gorsuch laid out his judicial philosophy after being nominated for the U.S. Supreme Court by President Donald Trump on Tuesday.
"I respect to the fact that in our legal order it is for Congress, and not the courts, to write new laws. It is the role of judges to apply, not alter the work of the people's' representatives," Gorsuch said.
The next order of business is meeting the people in the Capitol who guide his nomination through the confirmation process.
Gorsuch was escorted by Colorado's Republican Sen. Cory Gardner who he sat down with in the senator's office.
"Delighted to be here. A little bit of Colorado in Washington," the judge said.
Back in Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, weighed in on the Gorsuch nomination.
"Obviously there's a certain pride that he is a Coloradan, but I think especially what happened to Merrick Garland, a very capable candidate who waited a year and never got one hearing; I would expect that the Democrats are going to look very, very closely at his judicial record," Hickenlooper said.
There was no shortage of pride at Christ the King School in the Hilltop area of Denver where Gorsuch attended elementary and middle school.
JoAnn Ehrlich was his eighth grade teacher and had a message for him.
"I'm proud of you Neil for being the kind of kid that I saw you and how you grew into a person who wanted to serve, not only just the class, but you wanted to serve the whole country," Ehrlich said, adding that Gorsuch was always interested in government and politics.
The confirmation process is promising to be a rigorous one, but if and when it's completed Ehrlich is hoping the judge will return to where he once attended school to say hello.
CBS4's Rick Sallinger is a Peabody award winning reporter who has been with the station more than two decades doing hard news and investigative reporting. Follow him on Twitter @ricksallinger.
