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Governor Herbert Weighs In On Trump’s Supreme Court Pick

The White House
U.S. Circuit Court Judge Neil Gorsuch speaks at the White House Tuesday night after President Trump introduced him as his pick to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court.

In a press conference Thursday afternoon, Governor Gary Herbert shared his thoughts about President Trump’s recent pick for the Supreme Court, U.S. Circuit Judge Neil Gorsuch.

Although Gorsuch comes from the Tenth Circuit Court which covers much of the western states—including Utah—Governor Herbert says he does not know him personally. But he does feel encouraged by his track record.

 

“If he does what he says he’s going to do, if he stands for what he says he’s going to stand for, this is going to be a good appointment for the bench," says Herbert.

 

He says Gorsuch seems to understand the importance of separating lawmaking from law interpretation.

 

A distinction Herbert says he’s taken to heart as he’s appointed more than half of Utah’s Supreme Court Justices.

 

“I don’t ask them their politics, I don’t ask whether they’re conservative, liberal, Republican, Democrat," says Herbert. "But we do ask them how they make their decisions. How they go through a process to determine and render a judgment.”

 

As far as rendering a judgment on President Trump’s first few weeks in office Herbert says it’s too early to tell.

 

Although Herbert does look forward to working with his friends and former governors Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of Energy Rick Perry.

Lee Hale began listening to KUER while he was teaching English at a Middle School in West Jordan (his one hour commute made for plenty of listening time). Inspired by what he heard he applied for the Kroc Fellowship at NPR headquarters in DC and to his surprise, he got it. Since then he has reported on topics ranging from TSA PreCheck to micro apartments in overcrowded cities to the various ways zoo animals stay cool in the summer heat. But, his primary focus has always been education and he returns to Utah to cover the same schools he was teaching in not long ago. Lee is a graduate of Brigham Young University and is also fascinated with the way religion intersects with the culture and communities of the Beehive State. He hopes to tell stories that accurately reflect the beliefs that Utahns hold dear.
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