Grassley now ready to move ahead on Supreme Court

After a year in which Sen. Chuck Grassley was at the center of controversy over holding open the U.S. Supreme Court seat left by the death of Antonin Scalia, Iowa's senior senator Tuesday night praised President Donald Trump's selection to fill the vacancy.

Grassley. a Republican who leads the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he was ready to move forward with confirmation hearings for federal appeals Judge Neil Gorsuch.

'I think he comes with good credentials, but most importantly he's the sort of a judge that we should have on the Supreme Court because he believes (in) interpreting law and interpreting the Constitution according to original intent,” Grassley said in a videotaped statement.

Grassley had refused to schedule a hearing before his committee for Judge Merrick Garland, who was former President Barack Obama's nominee, saying the choice should wait for the next president.

Likewise, Iowa GOP Sen. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa also praised Gorsuch, calling him 'eminently qualified.”

'The people spoke last November and our new president has tonight put forward a well-respected nominee who the Senate has previously confirmed with unanimous support,” she said.

She added that it now is 'time for Washington to work together.”

Democrats, though, weren't ready to forgive Republicans for failing to hold a vote on Obama's nomination last March of Garland. The court has been operating with eight judges since Scalia died Feb. 13, 2016.

They said they would be looking for a judge who would be able to exercise independence.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, the chamber's second highest ranking Democrat, said he will support a hearing and a vote on Gorsuch, but he pointedly noted 'both of which were denied to an eminently qualified nominee presented by President Obama.”

The Iowa group Why Courts Matter, which criticized Grassley for not holding hearings on Garland, also was critical of Gorsuch.

The group, which is a coalition of progressive organizations, said 'the shocking events of the past few days have underscored why we need a justice who will serve as a check on the politicians in the other branches of government, including President Trump.”

The group said it did not believe Gorsuch would be independent.