Flanked by the president who promised to fill the seat of conservative Antonin Scalia with someone in the mold of the late justice, Neil Gorsuch was sworn in on Monday as the Supreme Courts newest memberending a bitter, yearlong fightthat may forever change how Supreme Court battles are wagedand won.In a private ceremony at the Supreme Court and later in a public event at the White House, Gorsuch took separateconstitutional and judicial oaths as the nations 113th justice.The lifetime appointment restores the courts half-century-old conservative majority. At 49, Gorsuch could serve on the bench for decades. It is also by far the biggest coup of President Donald Trumps chaotic first 100 days in office ' the confirmation process went relatively smoothly despite bitter bickeringin the Senate, which blew up its own rules to get Gorsuch confirmed.Youre now entrusted with the sacred duty of defending our Constutiton, Trump said right before Gorsuch was sworn in. Our country is counting on you to be wise, impartial and fair. To serve under our laws, not over them, and to safeguard the right of the people to govern their own affairs. I have no doubt you will rise to the occasion and the decisions you will make will not only protect our constitution today, but for many generations of Americans to come.Gorsuchs swearing-in at the White House was also symbolic. His former boss on the high court when he was a young lawyer, Justice Anthony Kennedy, administered the oath.We as a people find our self-definition, our heritage, and our destiny in our Constitution, Kennedy said in brief remarks before he read from the judicial oath. As of Monday, Gorsuch became the first former law clerk to serve alongside one of the justices he worked with.I will never forget that the seat that I inherit today is that of a great, great man, the new justice said following his swearing-in, in a reference to Scalia, whose seat remain unfilled for more than 400 days.One Supreme Court commentator quipped that Gorsuch may have been referring to Judge Merrick Garland,whom former President Barack Obama chose to fill the Scalia seat but was historically denied even a hearing by Senate Republicans. During his own confirmation hearing, Gorsuch had nothing but praise for Garland but refused to say what he thoughtabout how the Senate mistreated the judge.Justice Anthony Kennedy swears in Judge Neil #Gorsuch as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. #SCOTUS pic.twitter.com/wyry4Cw4Rt CSPAN (@cspan) April 10, 2017 The White House, for its part, has its sights set on the next Supreme Court vacancy.Three justicesKennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyerare all in their 80s or near it, and a death or retirement during Trumps first term is a real possibility. With the loss of a liberal justice or Kennedy, who often votes with them on issues such as gay rights, Republicans could entrench a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court.After Mondays festivities, Gorsuch is expected to dive headlong into the work of the court. Later this week, he will convene with his other eight colleagues for his first private conference, where the nine will consider what new cases to add to the Supreme Courts docket for the new term, which begins in October.As the most junior justice, Gorsuch will also relieve Justice Elena Kagan, who joined the court in 2010, from answering the door at these conferencesa tradition reserved for the courts newest member. Gorsuch is also expected to take over from herattending the cafeteria committeean informal body that determines the food that is served to the public and employees on Supreme Court grounds.This is a developing story and will be updated. -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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