WASHINGTON Newly-elected President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated Neil Gorsuch to replace deceased former Justice Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court.

“I promised to select someone who respects our laws and is representative of our Constitution and love our Constitution,” said Trump.

The nine-member U.S. Supreme Court has been short-staffed since Scalia’s death last February, resulting in deadlocked rulings on issues like union dues and immigration that left lower court decisions intact.

Obama immigration plan blocked by 4-4 tie at Supreme Court

Gorsuch, 49, is an appeals judge from Colorado who once clerked for Justices Byron White and Anthony Kennedy. The Harvard Law school graduate is the son of Anne Gorsuch Burford, who headed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency during Ronald Reagan’s presidency.

“It is an extraordinary resume, as good as it gets,” said Trump.

Who is Judge Neil Gorsuch?

Goresuch said he was “honored and humbled” to be nominated and pledged to uphold the Constitution as a justice.

“As this process now moves to the Senate, I look forward to speaking with members on both sides of the aisle,” he said.

Although former President Barack Obama nominated appeals Merrick Garland to fill the vacancy left by Scalia’s death, Republicans who control the U.S. Senate refused to consider him, arguing the pick should Vegabet go to Obama’s successor.

“The goal was to make sure that the voters had a say,” said White House spokesman Sean Spicer. “And I think that clearly it worked. The voters looked at that as a major reason in which they voted for the president. And I think that as we move forward, that’s why we’re going to get the support we need.”

The totally unexpected loss of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is a massive setback for the Conservative movement and our COUNTRY!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 13, 2016

Trump released a list of 21 potential Supreme Court picks as he campaigned for the White House in September. Spicer said he winnowed down the field after consulting U.S. Senators in both political parties in a “transparent and inclusive” process.

“This particular choice is one that the president takes very seriously,” said Spicer. “He knows it will impact the course of our country’s jurisprudence for generations to come.”

Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.