Neil Gorsuch

Gorsuch was confirmed by the Senate, 54-45, on Friday after a contentious few days, during which Democrats blocked consideration of his nomination by using the minority party's power to filibuster. Republicans got around the roadblock by changing the Senate's rules to eliminate the 60-vote threshold needed to bring high court nominations to the floor.

Republicans just changed Senate rules using the so-called "nuclear option" to push an up-or-down vote on Neil Gorsuch, after Democrats pulled off the first-ever partisan filibuster of a Supreme Court nominee

Senate Democrats secured the votes Monday to block President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, a short-lived victory as Republicans vowed to change the rules to put Neil Gorsuch on the high court and score a much-needed win for their party. (April 3) AP

If the 60 votes aren't there

Donald Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court has described the president's attacks on the judiciary as "demoralising" and "disheartening".

In both writing style and constitutional philosophy, Gorsuch, 49, is a natural replacement for Scalia.