It was inevitable that the topic would come up. Sure enough, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) jumped on the bandwagon. After unsuccessfully attempting to pin Judge Gorsuch down regarding litmus tests of religious liberty, he took another tack. Cue the Muslim travel ban!

Leahy then posed the question a different way, using the language of then-candidate Trump to ask about a hypothetical ban on Muslims entering the United States. Trump has since ditched the incendiary rhetoric when speaking about travel bans, though a reference remains on his campaign website. Leahy also cited an unnamed Republican congressman who allegedly said “the best thing the president could do for his Muslim ban is to make sure he has Gorsuch on the Supreme Court before appeals get to that point.”

Oh boy… here we go.

Did you catch that response from Judge Gorsuch? It’s a thing of beauty!

“Senator, he has no idea how I’d rule in that case and, senator, I’m not going to say anything here that’s going to give anybody any idea how I’d rule in any case like that that could come before the Supreme Court or my court on the 10th Circuit,” Gorsuch said, tapping a pointed finger on his desk to emphasize his words. “It would be grossly improper of a judge to do that. It would be a violation of the separation of powers and judicial independence if someone sitting at this table, in order to get confirmed, had to make promises or commitments about how they’d rule in a case that’s currently pending and likely to make its way to the Supreme Court.”