Judge Gorsuch -- Utah’s nominee for the Supreme Court
By Senator Orrin Hatch
In the 2016 election, Utahns not only cast their vote for president; they also voiced their will concerning the future of the Supreme Court.
Indeed, the question over who would fill the late Justice Scalia’s seat was a deciding factor for many at the ballot box. Voters had a stark choice between Hillary Clinton, who sought to tip the balance of the court in a decidedly liberal direction, and Donald Trump, who promised to nominate a judge with impeccable credentials and an unquestionable commitment to the Constitution.
The American people, including 102,182 Utah County voters, made their voices heard by electing Trump to the presidency.
The president has since made true on his campaign promises by nominating Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Utahns should take heart knowing that Judge Gorsuch is the right kind of justice for America. He will honor the legacy of the late Justice Scalia in his fidelity to freedom and his dedication to the rule of law.
Judge Gorsuch is exceptionally qualified to serve, which is why I have long sung his praises. In fact, prior to Gorsuch’s nomination, I met with President Trump in the Oval Office to discuss, among other things, potential nominees to the Supreme Court.
At one point in our conversation, the president asked for my thoughts on Judge Gorsuch. Knowing of Judge Gorsuch’s exceptional qualifications and his sterling record on the federal bench, I recommended him to the president in the strongest possible terms.
The very next week, I was humbled to see that the president took my advice into account when he nominated Judge Gorsuch for the Supreme Court. If Judge Gorsuch is confirmed, Utahns can rest assured that our most fundamental freedoms, including religious liberty and the rights of the unborn, will continue to take precedence in our nation’s highest court.
Judge Gorsuch is indisputably qualified to serve on the Supreme Court, but his judicial philosophy is what truly sets him apart. Judge Gorsuch exercises restraint on the federal bench by making his decisions based on the law and the Constitution, not on his own policy preferences or personal feelings. Perhaps most importantly, Judge Gorsuch pays deference to the people’s will and to their elected representatives by saying what the law is — not what he thinks it should be.
He is committed to upholding the separation of powers by respecting the distinct roles of each branch of government. He also understands that judges should refrain from acting as legislators and that their constitutional duty is merely to interpret the law — not to change the law’s meaning or bend it to their will.
President Trump made an inspired choice in Judge Gorsuch — so, too, did Utah’s voters. Indeed, their part in securing Judge Gorsuch’s nomination should not go overlooked. When Mr. Trump released his short list of potential nominees last spring, he made clear that the November ballot would not merely be an election for president; it would also be a referendum on the future of the Supreme Court. Recognizing that a vote for Trump was also a vote to fill the judiciary with principled jurists like Neil Gorsuch, thousands of Utahns pulled the lever for the Republican nominee.
More than any Supreme Court nominee in recent history, President Trump’s selection of Judge Gorsuch reflects the will of America’s voters. In a very real sense, Judge Gorsuch is the people’s nominee, and given his record and qualifications, we have every reason to believe he will serve the people well.
I sincerely hope that my colleagues in the Senate will respect the results of this election and the wishes of the American electorate by acting swiftly to confirm Judge Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.
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Hatch Outlines Innovation Agenda, Praises Utah’s Tech Sector in Podcast
SALT LAKE CITY—Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, Chairman of the Senate Republican High-Tech Task Force, joined the Deseret News Silicon Slopes Hour podcast to discuss his innovation agenda for the 115th Congress, and to praise Utah’s vibrant technology sector.
You can listen to the full interview here:
Via Silicon Slopes Hour Podcast
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Op-ed: Hatch and Trump are the dream team rural Utah needs
By Leland F. Pollock, Garfield County Commissioner
http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4966758-155/op-ed-hatch-and-trump-are-dream
Last month, President Donald Trump called Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch into the Oval Office, where they spent over an hour discussing various challenges facing our nation, including an issue of critical importance to Utah: presidential land grabs through the Antiquities Act. The president listened intently as Hatch detailed the devastating impacts of executive abuse.
Thanks to Hatch, Utahns were finally able to send a clear message to the president: Stop overly broad monument designations, and stop the abuse of power. And finally, we have a president who is willing to listen.
Hatch's conversation with Trump was a much-needed victory for our state. Here in Utah, overreaching monument designations are much more than an inconvenience; they are a threat to our very way of life.
With the stroke of a pen, the federal government can lock away millions of acres of public land that our families depend on for their livelihood, for recreation and, in some cases, for their very survival.
Last month, Hatch brought the president's attention to the damage caused by presidential land grabs. At long last, we have a president who not only understands the problem but who is also eager to work with us to fix it.
In the wake of the election, a group of rural county commissioners, including me, said that Hatch is strategically positioned to influence the president, and we were right. After Hatch's conversation with Trump last month about the Grand Staircase and Bears Ears, no one would dispute that Utah's most experienced senator has the president's ear on the issues that are most important to our state and our nation.
In the months to come, Hatch will continue to be an indispensable ally and a valuable adviser to the president. That's because Hatch is not only the chairman of the most powerful committee in Congress, the Senate Finance Committee, but he is also a straight shooter.
The majority of the president's key priorities — from fixing our tax code to repealing Obamacare — will require Hatch's input and ultimately his approval as chairman. To move any reform through Congress, the president will continue to need Hatch's cooperation, experience and advice.
Perhaps this is why, only a month into his presidency, Trump has already held multiple meetings with Hatch in the Oval Office. Thanks to his tremendous influence in the Senate, Hatch will continue to have more face time with the president than almost any member of Congress. That's great news for Utah.
I said it once, and I'll say it again: With the ear of the president, Hatch has both the opportunity to advocate for Western priorities and the leverage to deliver. That's why our rural counties need Hatch.
For eight years, the Obama administration laid siege to Western counties, subjecting them to a relentless barrage of damaging and unnecessary environmental regulations, land use restrictions, and in Utah's case, litigation. The administration's parting shot was the last-minute Bears Ears proclamation.
But with a new president — and with Hatch representing Utah's interests before the White House — the status quo is set to change. With Trump and Hatch working together, Utahns against regulatory overreach can push back against the previous administration's disastrous legacy and finally resolve our public lands problems.
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Recess in Review: Hatch Takes Case for Gorsuch to Utah
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the senior member and former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made several appearances in Utah media last week to advocate for the confirmation of Judge Neil Gorsuch to serve on the United States Supreme Court.
Senator Hatch has made the case for Judge Gorsuch in a number of op-eds:
