Sen. Dick Durbin said he was withholding judgment on Neil Gorsuch after meeting with the Supreme Court nominee Tuesday.

"I'm anxious for a clear statement that he respects the judicial branch of government at this perilous constitutional time," said Durbin, the No. 2 leader for the minority Democrats in the U.S. Senate and a member of the Judiciary Committee that will vet Gorsuch.

Durbin, of Illinois, said Gorsuch, a federal appellate judge for the Denver-based 10th Circuit, had high praise for Illinois native Merrick Garland, whose nomination by President Barack Obama was scuttled by Republican senators who denied him a confirmation hearing.

Gorsuch called Garland a "model nominee" and said he hopes to be "half the nominee" Garland was, according to Durbin.

Durbin, addressing reporters after a 40-minute meeting with Gorsuch, said it was "totally unfair and unjust" to derail Garland's nomination and said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as the "architect" of that effort "should never forget it."

Durbin supports a hearing and Senate vote for Gorsuch and said 60 votes should be required to seal a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court.

In his news conference, Durbin also said the nation was facing "uncharted waters." He noted Trump's executive order on travel, his firing of acting Attorney General Sally Yates, an Obama holdover, and Monday's resignation of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn after he misled Trump and Vice President Mike Pence about his talks with the Russian ambassador.

Trump picks conservative judge Neil Gorsuch for Supreme Court Tribune news services

President Donald Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch, a fast-rising conservative judge with a writer's flair, to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, setting up a fierce fight with Democrats over a jurist who could shape America's legal landscape for decades to come.

At 49, Gorsuch is the youngest Supreme Court...

President Donald Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch, a fast-rising conservative judge with a writer's flair, to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, setting up a fierce fight with Democrats over a jurist who could shape America's legal landscape for decades to come.

At 49, Gorsuch is the youngest Supreme Court...

(Tribune news services)

"This, my friends, is serious business," Durbin said.

"That's why this selection of a nominee to fill the deciding seat on the court is historically so important, in the context of what we have seen over the past 25 days of the Trump presidency, you cannot dismiss the possibility that we are going to face some of the most critical constitutional decisions of our time," Durbin said.

Durbin said he was the 43rd senator to meet with Gorsuch since his nomination. He said Gorsuch was thoughtful and had an impressive resume but they disagreed on some high court decisions.

He noted Gorsuch reiterated that recent criticisms of federal judges was "disheartening" and "demoralizing."

Durbin said Gorsuch did not mention Trump by name, but he assumed his comments referred to the president's derision of "so-called judges" and his questioning during his White House campaign of the fairness of a Mexican-American judge in light of his heritage.

kskiba@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @KatherineSkiba

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