Gorsuch Says Supreme Court Differences Stem from Interpretation, Not Politics

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch said differences among his colleagues on the high court often stem less from politics than from varying approaches to constitutional interpretation. That dynamic, he said, shapes both the court's rulings and its internal relations.

"That has nothing to do with politics," Gorsuch told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. "That has to do with how you read law. Interpretive methodologies."

Gorsuch, nominated by President Donald Trump in 2017, calls himself a "textualist." His approach centers on the ordinary meaning of words in legal texts as written. Textualism connects to originalism, the view that the Constitution should follow its original public meaning at adoption.

Other justices take different views, some allowing interpretations to evolve over time. Gorsuch said such differences, though significant, stay professional, not personal.

"At the end of the day, you're trying to get to the right answer under the law," he said. He called disagreement an expected and healthy part of the process.

Gorsuch spoke as the federal judiciary and Supreme Court face growing scrutiny, including from Trump and his allies. They accuse courts of overstepping into executive duties.

Trump posted on Truth Social last month that the Supreme Court's conservative majority showed him "very little loyalty" by blocking his "Liberation Day" tariffs in February. He predicted they might also stop his executive order to end "birthright citizenship" in the U.S.

"Certain 'Republican' Justices have just gone weak, stupid, and bad, completely violating what they 'supposedly' stood for," Trump said.

Trump contrasted conservative justices with liberals, whom he said "stick together like glue, totally loyal to the people and ideology that got them there."

Gorsuch said justices often find common ground despite clashing constitutional views. That spirit extends to their closed-door work, where debate and collaboration drive the court's duties.

"The framers understood that people would come to the table with different views," Gorsuch told Fox News Digital. "The goal is to reason together."

Gorsuch said the court's culture rests on mutual respect, even with sharp ideological lines.

"If you sit and listen to someone long enough, you're going to find something you can agree on," he added. "Maybe you start there."