President Trump touted his selection of Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the Supreme Court’s vacant seat during his Tuesday night address to a joint session of Congress.
“I have kept my promise to appoint a Justice to the United States Supreme Court — from my list of 20 judges — who will defend our Constitution,” Trump said. “I am greatly honored to have Maureen Scalia with us in the gallery tonight. Thank you, Maureen. Her late, great husband, Antonin Scalia, will forever be a symbol of American justice.”
Trump continued: “To fill his seat, we have chosen Judge Neil Gorsuch, a man of incredible skill, and deep devotion to the law. He was confirmed unanimously by the court of appeals, and I am asking the Senate to swiftly approve his nomination.”
While five sitting Supreme Court justices attended Trump’s address, Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Samuel Alito, and Clarence Thomas did not attend. Thomas and Alito of the court’s right-leaning bloc stopped attending such speeches during President Obama’s tenure.
Ginsburg skipped Trump’s address on Tuesday to Congress after attending each of Obama’s state of the union speeches. Ginsburg criticized Trump as a “faker” on the presidential campaign trail in July 2016, and Trump responded by calling for her resignation.
Trump shook hands and made small talk with each of the five justices in attendance for his speech on Tuesday night before taking the podium.
