Trump’s SCOTUS Nominee Is No Rubber Stamp: New at Reason

Donald Trump’s Twitter temper tantrum over the legal challenge to his immigration order suggests he does not appreciate the role of an independent judiciary. Fortunately, writes Jacob Sullum, Trump’s lack of interest in such matters has given us a Supreme Court nominee who takes that role seriously and can be expected to resist presidential power grabs.

Trump’s critics understandably worried that his choice to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia would be someone with authoritarian instincts who would bend over backward to accommodate the president’s agenda. But judging from his record on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, Neil Gorsuch is not that guy, notes Sullum. The same progressives who claim Gorsuch would be a “rubber stamp” for Trump are troubled by his criticism of the Chevron doctrine, which says judges should defer to bureaucrats’ interpretations of the laws they enforce. But Gorsuch’s skepticism of that principle, which is based on his respect for the separation of powers, shows he is not shy about challenging the executive branch when it exceeds its bounds.

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