hello, i hello, lam hello, i am rajini vaidyanathan, hello, lam rajini vaidyanathan, and you're watching bbc news. i am reporting live from washington. in just a few moments, president donald trump will announce his choice to fill the vacant seat on the us supreme court. now, he is going to be making that decision in a prime—time address to the nation from the east room of the white house. it will be the first such address he will have made as the president of the united states. now, in abouta president of the united states. now, in about a a few minutes we will be hearing from president trump. about half an hour ago, in true president trump fashion he sent out a tweet saying that he would be making a very important decision, and it is a huge decision for america. the us supreme court is made up of nine justices but the vacancy came about a year ago after the death of the conservative justice antonin a year ago after the death of the conservativejustice antonin sculli. president obama tried to appoint a replacement but the republicans

locked the process by which he was able to do that, insisting the new president should make such an important decision, and of course now it is president trump who has decided. at the moment there are four liberal leading justices and four liberal leading justices and four conservative leaning justices, although one is seen as a swing vote, one of the conservative justices, just as kennedy. so this replacement will be another conservative to the bench which will give the supreme court a slightly leaning conservative slant —— justice. now, president trump has said he will be picking a conservative justice, said he will be picking a conservativejustice, someone said he will be picking a conservative justice, someone who will uphold the pro life movement, someone will uphold the pro life movement, someone who will preserve gun rights, andi someone who will preserve gun rights, and i think we can now see resident —— president trump entering

the east room, along with his sons. here he is. thank you. thank you very much. thank you. thank you very much. thank you. thank you very much. thank you thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. whenjustice antonin scalia passed away suddenly last fairjury antonin scalia passed away suddenly lastfairjury are antonin scalia passed away suddenly last fairjury are made a promise to the american people. if i were elected president i would find the very bestjudge in the country for the supreme court. i promised to select someone who respects our laws and is representative of our constitution and who loves our constitution, and someone who will interpret them as written. this may be the most transparentjudicial selection process in history. months

ago as a candidate, i publicly presented a list of brilliant and accomplished people to the american electorate and pledged to make my choice from among that list. millions of voters said this was the single most important issue to them when they voted for me for president. i am a man of my word. i will do as i say. something that the people have been asking for from washington for a very, very long time. today... applause. thank you. today i emptied in another promise to the american people —— today i am keeping another promise to the american people by nominating judge neil corsets of the

united states supreme court to be of the united states supreme court and i would like to makejudge gorsuch and his wonderful wife, louise, to please step forward. please, louise, judge. here they come. applause. so, was it a surprise? was it? applause. i have always felt that after the

defence of our nation, the most important decision a president of the united states can make is the appointment of a supreme court justice. depending on their age, a justice. depending on their age, a justice can be active for 50 years and his or her decisions can last a century or more and can often be permanent. i took the task of this nomination very seriously. i have selected an individual whose qualities defined, really, and i mean closely defined what we are looking for. judge gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has owned bipartisan support. when he was nominated to the 10th circuit court of appeals, he was confirmed by the senate unanimously. also, that is unanimous. can you believe that, nowadays, with what is going on? applause. does that happen any more? does it

happen? i think it is going to happen, maybe against also with us tonight is marine scalia, a woman loved and respected by all. i am so happy she is with us. —— maureen scalia. applause. thank you, maureen. she is really the ultimate representative of the late, greatjustice antonin scalia, whose image and genius was in my mind throughout the decision—making process. not only are we looking at the writings of the nominee, and i studied them closely, but he is said to be among the finest and most brilliant, oftentimes the writing of

anyjudge for a long, long time, and his academic credentials, something important to me, and education has a lwa ys important to me, and education has always been a priority, are as good asi always been a priority, are as good as i have ever always been a priority, are as good as i have ever seen. always been a priority, are as good as i have ever seen. he received his undergraduate degree from colombia with honours, he then received his law degree from harvard, also with honours, where he was a truman scholar. after harvard, he received his doctorate at oxford, where he attended as a martial —— marshal scholar, one of the top anywhere in the world. after law school he worked on the supreme court for justices byron white and anthony kennedy. it is an extraordinary resume. it is as good as it gets. judge gorsuch was born and raised in colorado and was taught the value of independence, hard work and public service. while in law school he

demonstrated a commitment to helping the less fortunate. he worked in both harvard prison legal assistance projects, and harvard defenders programme, brilliance being ensured i studied every aspect of his life. he could have had anyjob at any law firm for any amount of money. but what he wanted to do with his career was to be a judge, to right decisions and to make an impact by upholding our laws and our constitution. the qualifications of judge gorsuch are beyond dispute. he is the man of our country and a man who our country really needs and needs badly to ensure the rule of law and the rule ofjustice. i would like to thank senate leadership. i only hope that both democrats and republicans can come together for once for the good of the country. congratulations to you and your

family. may god bless you, may god bless our glorious nation. judge gorsuch, the podium, sir, is yours. applause. thank you. thank you. mr president, thank you very much. mr president, mr vice president, you and your team have shown the great courtesy in this process. you have entrusted me with a most solemn assignment. standing here in a house of history,

and acutely aware of my own imperfections, i pledge that if i am concerned i will do all my powers permit to be a faithful servant of the constitutional laws of this great country. for the last decade, i've worked as a federaljudge in a court that spans the six western states, serving about 20% of the continental united states and about 18 million people. the men and women i have worked with at every level in out i have worked with at every level in our circuit are i have worked with at every level in ourcircuit are an i have worked with at every level in our circuit are an inspiration to me. i have watched them furiously turning to the law, enforcing our constitution and living out daily the traditional oaths to administer justice equally to reach and poor alike. following the law as they find it and without respect to their personal political beliefs. i think of them tonight. 0f personal political beliefs. i think of them tonight. of course, the supreme court's work is vital not just to a region of the country but to the whole, vital to the protection of the people's liberties under law protection of the people's liberties underlaw and to protection of the people's liberties under law and to the continuity of

out under law and to the continuity of our constitution, the greatest charter of human liberty the world has ever known. the towering judges that have served in this particular seat of the supreme court, including antonin scalia and robert jackson, are much in my mind at this moment. justice scalia was a lion of the law. agree or disagree with him, all of his colleagues on the bench cherished his wisdom and his humour and, like them, i miss him. i began my legal career working for byron white. the last colorado and to serve on the supreme court and the onlyjustice to lead the nfl in rushing. laughter he was one of the smartest and most courageous men i have ever known. whenjust as have ever known. when just as white retired he have ever known. whenjust as white retired he gave me the chance to work forjustice kennedy as well. justice kennedy was incredibly welcoming and gracious and like justice white he taught me so and like justice white he taught me so much. i am forever grateful. and

if you have ever metjudge david sent help, you will knowjust how lucky i was to land a clerkship with him right out of school —— sendell. laughter. thank you. these judges brought me up thank you. these judges brought me up in the law. truly, i would not be here without them. today is as much their day as it is mine. in the balance of my professional life, i have had the privilege of working as a practising lawyer and teacher. i have enjoyed wonderful colleagues who —— have enjoyed wonderful colleagues who — — who have enjoyed wonderful colleagues who —— who means so much to me at this moment, as it has year in an year. practising in the trial were trenches of the war i saw too that when we georges don our roads it doesn't make us any smarter but it doesn't make us any smarter but it does serve was of a reminder of what is expected of us — impartiality and independents, collegiality and

courage independents, collegiality and courage “— independents, collegiality and courage —— robes. as this process now moves to the senate i look forward with speaking with members from both sides of the aisle to answertheir from both sides of the aisle to answer their questions and hear their concerns —— independence. i consider the united states senate the greatest deliberative body in the greatest deliberative body in the world and i respect the important role the constitution affords it in the confirmation of ourjudges. i respect too that in ourjudges. i respect too that in our legal order it is congress and not the courts who write the laws, the role ofjudges to apply and not alter the work of the people's representatives. a judge who alter the work of the people's representatives. ajudge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge. stretching for results he prefers rather than those the lord manse. —— nor do manse. i am so the lord manse. —— nor do manse. i am so thankful to vote for my family, my friends and my faith. these are the things that keep me grounded and at life's peaks and its

valley. my wife, louise, incredible companion or 20 years, my cherished daughters who are watching on tv and all of my family and friends, i cannot thank you enough for your love and for your prayers. i could not attempt this without you. mr president, im honoured and i am humbled. thank you very much —— —— i am honoured. applause. applause there you have it. president trump has announced neil gorsuch as the next us supreme court

justice to fill the vacancy created after the death ofjustice antonin scalia a year ago. resident trump in announcing that mr gorsuch was going to feel that they conceive said that he had the academic credentials and they are as good as i've ever seen. president trump said the process was the most transparent judicial process in history. he made that announcement in the east room of the white house. prime—time address to the nation. also in the room were the nation. also in the room were the president's sons, eric trump and donald trump junior, of the president's sons, eric trump and donald trumpjunior, of course as well as the vice president. and neil gorsuch also said a few words, he said he was honoured and humbled to receive this. he is a very

experienced justice, mr trump not just praising his academic credentials but his similarities to the seat of the justice that he's going to fill. he said he had a very similar vision to antonin scalia in terms of his ideology. in terms of his experience, neil gorsuch is 49 yea rs his experience, neil gorsuch is 49 years old, he serves at the moment in the appeals court in colorado, a poster that he has held for over a decade. his academic credentials are something president trump praised —— a post that he has. he went to columbia university and he studied at harvard and he was a marshall scholar at oxford university. he also clocked at the supreme court forjustice kennedy. donald trump said his new pic for the us supreme court had an extraordinary resonate —— clerked. he is seen as a strict

constitutionalist. looking at some of his decisions, he has upheld religious freedoms and liberties laws. —— resume. he is seen as someone laws. —— resume. he is seen as someone who will fit the mould of justice antonin scalia, who created that vacancy through his sudden death last year. donald trump said this process, as i said, was a transparent one and that he has chosen someone who respects our laws and loves the constitution. rajini vaidya nathan live and loves the constitution. rajini vaidyanathan live at the supreme court with the breaking news that donald trump has nominated neil gorsuch to fill the vacancy on the supreme court. a bit more information about this appointment, a move that reinstates the conservative majority in the court.

talk us through the lineup of the judges in place at the moment? just for a beginner's guide to the supreme court, there are nine justices that sit on the court. they are loosely termed as either conservatives or liberals but it's worth pointing out they don't always vote on ideological lines. before neil gorsuch was announced there we re neil gorsuch was announced there were four liberals and four conservatives, although one of those conservatives, justice kennedy, is seen as more conservatives, justice kennedy, is seen as more of a swing vote. with the appointment of neil gorsuch, we now have five conservative leaning justices and four liberal leaning justices and four liberal leaning justices so we almost revert back to the make up we had when antonin scalia served on the us supreme court. what is important to note is there are three justices who are currently sitting on the bench who are around the 80—year—old mark. there's a good chance in president trump's term, one of those at least

could retire and that means he could get to pick their replacements. so there's the feeling if he does get to do that the court would become far more conservative leaning and be able to bring some of the changes that many of the people that voted for donald trump wanted. president trump said throughout this process that he was going to pick someone who was pro—life, someone who would uphold conservative values, someone who was pro—gun rights as well. with neil gorsuch in post, he has fulfilled that but it's important to stress, babita, he did say that when... i think we havejust lost our sound there to rajini vaidyanathan, our sound there to rajini vaidya nathan, but we our sound there to rajini vaidyanathan, but we should remind our viewers joining vaidyanathan, but we should remind our viewersjoining us, we have heard the appointment from donald trump that neil gorsuch will fill the vacancy on the supreme court and this came about following the death of the conservative judge this came about following the death of the conservativejudge antonin schoolie last year and it was barack

0bama's choice that was blocked by senate republicans ——justice antonin scalia. the democrats have threatened to block any candidate that is seen as too conservative but neil gorsuch is considered a conservative, which means the balance is slightly tipped with the nine sitting judges, four liberals and five conservatives. we'll get more reaction to this now. i'm joined by doctor larry sabato from the university of virginia's centre for politics. what is your reaction to the news of this appointment? this is exactly what donald trump promised the very conservative republican party and especially the white fundamentalist christians who are elected him. he got 81% of their votes, the highest ever recorded, more than even george w bush got with evangelical christians so he's delivered on his promise and as you

noted, it does change the colouration of the supreme court a bit. judge gorsuch is actually arguably more conservative even than the man he replaces, justice scalia. this already tells the court a bit more to the right and it means republicans control everything —— tilts. they will have the supreme court, the us. senate, the us. house, a large majority of governorship and state legislatures, the democrats have nothing.|j governorship and state legislatures, the democrats have nothing. i want to get your reaction to what donald trump said in that announcement when he said this appointment was made with bipartisan support, transparent and judicial process. is it bipartisan support in your opinion? not at all and we will see that as the nomination progresses in the u.s. senate. we are as divided along party lines today as much as any time back to the civil war in the 18

sixties. you're not going to see much bipartisan ship and the democrats, who don't have the votes to block this legislation necessarily, they might block it but i think he will get confirmed, they are deeply angry because this nomination came open came open a year ago nomination came open came open a yearago in nomination came open came open a year ago in february, 2016 and president obama nominated a moderate and well—qualified judge, eric garland, the republicans who had control in the senate refused a hearing, much lest to have a flow... they are going to block this nomination and they will drag their feet for months if they can. house accessible will they be inputting up that kind of protest —— how successful. the key is some of the democrats representing republican

states who come up for election in 2018. those red states were carried by donald trump. do they want to anger donald trump and risk being the target of his tweets and may endanger their re—elections, all will based on with their party and vote against a neil gorsuch? —— all will they. —— all will they. democrats have 48 seats, republicans have 52, obviously the republicans would need eight other votes or at least seven with the vice president who is a republican perhaps voting in favour of gorsuch. it's going to be difficult for the republicans to get those votes but given the fact there are ten democrats coming up for election in 2018 who represent states that trump carried, it's very possible. we hear about how complicated it is when we get into

the business of politics behind these appointments, there were a number of names banded about about who would get into this seat. now we know it's neil gorsuch. is that an appointment the republicans will be pleased with as opposed to going to someone pleased with as opposed to going to someone else equally conservative? the republicans were going to be happy with any of the finalists. they were all acceptable to the vast majority of republicans. the debate among republicans was which one was the most conservative. they really weren't sure. many of them picked gorsuch because his mother actually served in ronald reagan's cabinet and was very conservative and actually had to resign for various reasons, she was the head of the epa. they are familiar with the gorsuch family and they believe he will uphold the family tradition. larry sbata, we thank you for your time and we appreciate your reaction

to the breaking news that donald trump has appointed neil gorsuch. —— sabato. trump has appointed neil gorsuch. —— sa bato. let's listen trump has appointed neil gorsuch. —— sabato. let's listen to the moment donald trump made the announcement. i took the task of this nomination very seriously. i have selected an individual whose qualities define really, and i mean closely define, what we're looking for. judge gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support. when he was nominated to the 10th circuit court of appeals he was confirmed by the senate unanimously. also... that's unanimous, can you believe that nowadays with what's going on? applause does that happen any more, does it happened? i think it's going to happen maybe again. also with us tonight is

maureen scully. a woman loved by her husband and deeply respected by all. iamso husband and deeply respected by all. i am so happy she is with us. where is maureen. please stand up. thank you, maureen. thank you. applause she is really the ultimate representative of the late, great justice antonin scalia whose image and genius was in my mind throughout the decision—making process. not only are we looking at the writings of the nominee, and i studied them closely, he is said to be among the finest and most brilliant, often times the writings of anyjudge brilliant, often times the writings of any judge for a brilliant, often times the writings of anyjudge for a long, long time. and his academic credentials, something very important to me in

that education has always been a priority are as good as i have ever seen. he received his undergraduate degree from colombia with honours, he then received his law degree from harvard, also with honours, where he was a truman scholar. after harvard, he received his doctorate at oxford, where he attended as a marshal scholar, one of the top anywhere in the world. after law school, he clerked on the supreme court forjustices byron white and anthony kennedy. it is an extraordinary resume. as good as it gets. judge gorsuch was born and raised in colorado and was taught the value of independence, hard work and public service. while in law school, he demonstrated a commitment to helping the less fortunate. he worked in both harvard prison legal assistance projects, and harvard defenders programme. brilliance being assured,

i studied every aspect of his life. he could have had anyjob at any law firm for any amount of money. but what he wanted to do with his career was to be a judge, to write decisions and to make an impact by upholding our laws and our constitution. the qualifications ofjudge gorsuch are beyond dispute. he's the man of our country and a man who our country really needs, and needs badly, to ensure the rule of law and the rule ofjustice. prime—time address by donald trump on the east side of the white house making that announcement that neil gorsuch is to be the newjudge that has been appointed as part of the supreme court. i want to take you to the scene live in washington. this is where the announcement was made a short to time ago. a packed room donald trump's close team and anyone

else who can possibly squeeze in. fascinating to see what happens when he leaves with the headline is being written and the copy being sent to editors around the world. rajini vaidyanathan editors around the world. rajini vaidya nathan has editors around the world. rajini vaidyanathan has been following this very closely. give us your summing up very closely. give us your summing up and assessment of what we've just heard in the last 20 minutes. well, the choice president trump made is not a surprise. for a start, his name was one of the favourites from the list that president trump had been rumoured to be considering. this was all done in a very grand way. a big announcement in the east room of the white house on a prime—time address. there was a big buildup to this event. and of course this will now, for now, divert some attention away from some of the other issues that president trump has been having to deal with, such as the visa ban and the suspension of the refugee programme. now, his

decision to appoint neil gorsuch is absolutely in keeping with what he said he would do in the election campaign. he promised he would appoint someone who was a staunch conservative, someone who was pro life, and that will please his supporters but also there are people who are starting to protest outside the supreme court who have very different ideological views and therefore oppose this appointment. 0k, rajini vaidyanathan, thank you very much. yeah, showing you the pockets of protesters outside the supreme court, showing concern about the appointment of neil gorsuch, which was announced by donald trump, and of course merrick garland, president 0bama's choice, following the death of anthony