memeorandum: How Trump kept Gorsuch nomination a secret until the clock struck 8 (Philip Rucker/Washington Post)

9:40 AM ET, February 1, 2017

Top Items:

Neal K. Katyal / New York Times:

Why Liberals Should Back Neil Gorsuch — I am hard-pressed to think of one thing President Trump has done right in the last 11 days since his inauguration. Until Tuesday, when he nominated an extraordinary judge and man, Neil Gorsuch, to be a justice on the Supreme Court.

Discussion: SCOTUSblog, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Washington Post, BostonGlobe.com, VDARE, RedState, Power Line, Eschaton and Axios

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:

How Trump kept Gorsuch nomination a secret until the clock struck 8 — Tuesday night's presidential announcement of a Supreme Court nomination had all the makings of a Donald J. Trump production — except for this: The secret held. — When President Trump strode down the red-carpeted hallway …

Discussion: American Greatness, Denver Post, USA Today, Political Wire, Bloomberg, CNN, Politico, Associated Press, BuzzFeed, Mother Jones, New York Times, Washington Times, The Daily Caller, Axios and ABC News

Christina Cauterucci / Slate:

What Neil Gorsuch, Trump's SCOTUS Pick, Means for American Women — Neil Gorsuch, Donald Trump's nominee for the vacancy on the Supreme Court, is a consistently conservative judge who'd enter the court at a critical moment for reproductive rights. Though Gorsuch, a federal judge …

Discussion: Hot Air and Instapundit

Robert Barnes / Washington Post:

Trump picks Colo. appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch for Supreme Court — President Trump selected Colorado federal appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch as his Supreme Court nominee on Tuesday, opting in the most important decision of his young presidency for a highly credentialed favorite …

Discussion: ABC News, Politico, Althouse, theGrio, Patterico's Pontifications, The Stranger …, The Week and Scared Monkeys

President Trump had the chance to select:

President Trump had the chance to select a consensus nominee to the Supreme Court. To the surprise of absolutely nobody, he failed that test. — Instead, he carried out his public promise to select a nominee from a list drawn up by far right activist groups that were financed by big business interests.

Discussion: U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley …, ThinkProgress, The Week, twitchy.com and NPR

Fox News:
Ted Cruz reportedly says nuclear option is on table in Supreme Court pick

Discussion: Politico, Instapundit and ABC News

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
Who is Neil Gorsuch?

Discussion: Washington Post, LifeNews.com, Washington Free Beacon, Politico, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Lawyers, Guns & Money, CatholicHerald.co.uk, Mother Jones, Vox, The Atlantic, SCOTUSblog, Boing Boing and STAT

New York Times:
Trump Nominates Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court

Discussion: Hit & Run, FiveThirtyEight, The Federalist, Washington Post, The American Conservative, Mediaite, Politico, VDARE, Raw Story and Political Wire

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Make Republicans Nuke the Filibuster to Confirm Neil Gorsuch

Discussion: electionlawblog.org, NBC News, Washington Post, Daily Kos, New York Times, Townhall.com and DCist

New York Times:
Neil Gorsuch, the Nominee for a Stolen Seat

Discussion: Washington Post, NPR, The Daily Signal, USA Today and twitchy.com

Eric Bradner / CNN:
Pelosi on Gorsuch: ‘A very hostile appointment’

Discussion: Mediaite, twitchy.com and Washington Post

Ariane de Vogue / CNN:
President Trump nominates Neil Gorsuch for Supreme Court

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Althouse, Washington Post, Business Insider, TheBlaze, IJR, USA Today and alan.com

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Ayotte to lead White House team shepherding Supreme Court nominee

Discussion: Political Wire

Matt Vespa / Townhall.com:
War: Senate Democrats Prepare To Filibuster Trump's SCOTUS Pick No Matter What

Discussion: Salon, CNN, American Greatness, Slate, Vox, The Atlantic, Refinery29, Politico, Business Insider, Fox News Insider, AOL, New York Times, twitchy.com, The Daily Signal, ThinkProgress, WAVY-TV and The Guardian

New York Times:
It's ‘The Apprentice, Supreme Court Edition,’ as Trump Summons Finalists to White House

Carl Hulse / New York Times:
A Jarring New Level of Confrontation and Conflict Hits Washington

Discussion: American Power

Adam Liptak / New York Times:
In Judge Neil Gorsuch, an Echo of Scalia in Philosophy and Style

Discussion: The Nation, The Atlantic, Denver Post, Hit & Run, The Week, Forbes, Mediaite, LifeNews.com, LGBTQ Nation, The Daily Signal, Politico, Vox, Business Insider, Washington Post, New Urban Legends and TheBlaze

Ramesh Ponnuru / National Review:
Neil Gorsuch: A Worthy Heir to Scalia

Discussion: Vox, Politico, Washington Post, NPR, SCOTUSblog, Guns.com, ThinkProgress, Bloomberg, Fox News, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Economist, Talking Points Memo, TheBlaze, Townhall.com, Axios, Wall Street Journal, Above the Law, IJR, CNN, Reuters, Hot Air, Raw Story, BuzzFeed, RedState, New York's PIX11, Associated Press, Power Line and Vox Popoli

Amy Lange / WJBK-TV:

Detroit family caught in Iraq travel ban, mom dies waiting to come home — DETROIT (WJBK) - A local business owner flies to Iraq to bring his mother back home to the US for medical treatment. But under President Trump's ban on immigration and travel from seven predominately Muslim nations, he was forced to leave his family behind.

Discussion: Engadget, The Week and Daily Kos

Chris Kahn / Reuters:
Exclusive: Only a third of Americans think Trump's travel ban will make them safer

Discussion: Ipsos In North America, The Moderate Voice, Infowars, Hot Air, Washington Times, The Daily Caller, Hit & Run, Mediaite, The Week, Political Wire and Axios

Neil Munro / Breitbart:
Left Protests While Trump Junks Obama's Global Immigration Plan

Discussion: VDARE

Hadas Gold / Politico:

White House ices out CNN — The White House has refused to send its spokespeople or surrogates onto CNN shows, effectively icing out the network from on-air administration voices. — “We're sending surrogates to places where we think it makes sense to promote our agenda,” …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Week, Joe.My.God., Politicus USA, Media Matters for America, Business Insider, Mediaite, Raw Story and Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »

KFYR-TV:

Hoeven, Cramer say Acting Secretary of the Army has directed Corps to issue final easement for DAPL — WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator John Hoeven issued the following statement after speaking today with Vice President Pence and Acting Secretary of the Army Robert Speer:

Discussion: Congressman Kevin Cramer, The Stranger …, fox4kc.com, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Politico and NPR

Terray Sylvester / Reuters:
Clean-up begins at Dakota pipeline protest camp

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Power Line

Jeremy Diamond / CNN:

Trump trip canceled; Harley Davidson wasn't comfortable with likely protests — US President Donald Trump speaks to the staff at the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, DC, on January 25, 2017. Trump vowed to restore “control” of US frontiers as he moved Wednesday to fulfil his pledge to …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Week, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Politicus USA, twitchy.com, Raw Story, Boing Boing, Talking Points Memo, TheBlaze, Joe.My.God. and Mediaite

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

‘Idiots’ — Senate tensions boil over — The Senate has become embroiled in bitterness and name-calling less than two weeks after Inauguration Day. — The usually genteel chamber of Congress has been anything but recently amid controversial directives from the White House …

Discussion: alan.com

Valerie Strauss / Washington Post:
Two Republican senators says they aren't committed to voting for Betsy DeVos on Senate floor

Discussion: Mother Jones and Vox

Kenneth P. Vogel / Politico:

Trump security's use of force questioned — Donald Trump's private security lacked basic procedures and policies — including for the use of force — giving guards free rein during the campaign and transition to physically confront protesters and journalists they found objectionable …

Discussion: The Crime Report and New York Daily News

Jake Sherman / Politico:

Poll: 1-in-4 voters believe Trump's vote-fraud claims — One in four voters believe President Donald Trump's unsupported claim that millions of votes were illegally cast in the 2016 election, but more people believe that Trump benefited from any electoral malfeasance instead of Hillary Clinton.

Discussion: Morning Consult, Political Wire, The Daily Caller, Washington Times and The Week

Us Weekly:

First Lady Melania Trump May Stay in NYC Permanently and Never Move Into the White House — President Donald Trump may have 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue all to himself. — Though Donald, 70, and his wife Melania announced in November that the first lady would relocate from New York City …

Discussion: Mediaite

Wall Street Journal:

Prosecutors Weigh Child-Pornography Charges Against Anthony Weiner — Former congressman is being investigated for sexually explicit exchanges he allegedly had with a 15-year-old girl — Federal prosecutors are weighing bringing child-pornography charges against former Rep. Anthony Weiner …

Discussion: The Crime Report, The Hill, Moonbattery, AOL, Above the Law, The Daily Caller, Heat Street, The Gateway Pundit, RedState and Washington Times

Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post:

Resistance from within: Federal workers push back against Trump — The signs of popular dissent from President Trump's opening volley of actions have been plain to see on the nation's streets, at airports in the aftermath of his refugee and visa ban, and in the blizzard of outrage on social media.