Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch has more in common with his pal, the late Antonin Scalia, than just a conservative outlook on the U.S. Constitution.
Like Scalia, Gorsuch is winning over senators with his gift for gab, his ability to talking fishing and hunting, and his easy interacting with kids, according to those who have seen him in action.
Widespread support for Judge Neil Gorsuch ↓https://t.co/18o9LgoQS5 #SCOTUS #JusticeGorsuch pic.twitter.com/XqW6rPnyxu
— Gorsuch Facts (@GorsuchFacts) February 9, 2017
Several examples stand out, including his first day in the Capitol after President Trump nominated him. He was taken to the Senate floor and quickly went up to a gathering of Senate pages. “He told them that he too had once been a page, so if they worked hard they could have an auspicious future,” a source said, adding that Gorsuch posed for pictures with the blue-suited pages.
During his first meeting with a Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, the duo “yucked it up” over fly fishing, a sport the Colorado federal judge joined with Scalia in.
Yesterday, #SCOTUS nominee Judge Gorsuch met with Senators all over the Capitol…he also met with this puppy. #JusticeGorsuch pic.twitter.com/2S6so0mHPy
— Gorsuch Facts (@GorsuchFacts) February 3, 2017
He’s been pictured playing with the dog of an NPR reporter and fist-bumping a small black child while walking through the Senate as he has visited with more than two dozen senators, part of the chore of winning confirmation.
“Basically everyone he meets says he’s been so gracious, so kind to. And it’s legit,” said a long-time Senate insider.
And it’s working. Not only do public opinion polls show broad support for the judge, but there are strong indications that Senate Democrats won’t stop his nomination and that he will get to the court.
Meanwhile, his past as a Senate page and his outreach to the pages has given proponents of the program hope for restoring the page program in the House where it was killed in 2011.
Jerry Papazian, a former House page who is president of the U.S. Capitol Page Alumni Association, said, “We’re proud that another former Senate page has continued his interest in public service and has been honored with an appointment to the Supreme Court of the United States.”
He added, “All the more reason to restore a page program in the House of Representatives, which instills high school students with the civic knowledge, skills and disposition needed for a lifetime of engaged citizenship.”
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
