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Reuters

A secret meeting at a neighbour’s house, a drive through a back country road, and a clandestine flight on a military jet marked Judge Neil Gorsuch’s journey to the White House this week after US President Donald Trump chose him as his Supreme Court nominee.
Trump, who took office on January 20, called Gorsuch on Monday to inform him that he had prevailed among a handful of finalists to succeed deceased Justice Antonin Scalia on the high court.
That decision set off a rapid and secretive process to get Gorsuch to Washington without alerting journalists and other Supreme Court watchers of the president’s selection.
After Trump called the Colorado-based judge, a team from the White House counsel’s office flew to Denver and then drove to Boulder, roughly 45 minutes away, to meet with Gorsuch and his family.
They met at a neighbour’s house to avoid detection.

Then the White House staff spirited him though a “back farm road” to a waiting military plane to transport him to Washington, White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters on Tuesday night in the White House East Room.
Gorsuch stayed at a friend’s residence before being brought to the White House for the Tuesday evening announcement.
The secrecy continued up until the last minute.
When Trump, a former reality television star, entered the East Room, he came alone, addressing the cameras and the waiting crowd, which included Scalia’s widow, at a podium before calling on Gorsuch and his wife to come in.

Trump’s decision came after he narrowed a list of 21 candidates down to six, including Thomas Hardiman, William Pryor, Amul Thapar, Diane Sykes, and Don Willett.
Then president-elect Trump interviewed Gorsuch, Hardiman and Pryor on January 14 in his New York residence. He also interviewed Thapar.
“He finalised the decision recently,” after considering all 21 candidates “very deeply,” said Kellyanne Conway, a senior adviser and counsellor to the president.

White House counsel Don McGahn informed Hardiman, Pryor and Thapar that they had not been chosen, Spicer said.
The White House was determined to keep the president’s Supreme Court selection a secret and make the announcement of his choice a success after the botched rollout of his refugee executive order contributed to confusion and worldwide criticism last weekend.
The strategy to get Gorsuch confirmed will kick off right away, Spicer said, with former Senator Kelly Ayotte serving as the “sherpa” to help steer the nominee through the Senate confirmation process.


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Donald Trump

You’re hired: back road drive, secret flight brought Trump's court pick to Washington

You’re hired: Trump, who took office on January 20, called Neil Gorsuch on Monday to inform him that he had prevailed among a handful of finalists to succeed deceased Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. Photo: AP

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 31: Seen on a television camera monitor, President Donald Trump prepares to announce his nominee for the Supreme Court outside of the Supreme Court, January 31, 2017 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday night that he intends to nominate Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Gorsuch is a U.S. Circuit Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. If confirmed, Gorsuch will take the seat that has been vacant since the February 2016 death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Drew Angerer/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

President Donald Trump arrives annonces Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil M. Gorsuch in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017. (Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/TNS)

epaselect epa05763837 US President Donald J. Trump (R) shakes hands with Neil Gorsuch (L), federal judge serving on the 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals, after announcing Gorsuch as his nominee for the Supreme Court in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 31 January 2017. Trump announced Neil Gorsuch as his nominee to fill the vacancy in the Supreme Court left by the death of late Justice Antonin Scalia. EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS

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