When President Donald Trump stepped up to the White House podium to introduce Neil Gorsuch as his Supreme Court nominee on Tuesday night, the decision didn’t necessarily come as a surprise to the Republican Party.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman also felt this way about Gorsuch, but that’s because they were high school classmates over three decades ago.
“[Gorsuch] is just a very genuine, high-character individual,” Cashman told Ken Davidoff of the New York Post on Wednesday. “He’s a tremendous pick. I don’t think Donald Trump could have made a better pick with such character, integrity, and intelligence.”
Before his junior year of high school in 1983, Cashman’s family moved from Lexington, Ky. to the Washington D.C. suburbs. There, he was enrolled at Georgetown Prep in North Bethesda, Md., which had a graduating class of fewer than 100 students. One of Cashman’s classmates was Gorsuch, who he was friendly with until the two graduated in 1985.
“He was easily voted class president, and for good reason,” Cashman said of the 49-year-old judge to the New York Daily News. “Based upon the two years I went to high school with (Gorsuch), he was extremely intelligent, and a high-character guy.
“I kept up with his career through Colorado. He’s a good man. I’m not qualified to speak to his decision-making as a judge, but I think it would be hard to find fault with the person. He’ll obviously go through the vetting process. But the person I knew back then was a very smart, very humble, extremely bright young man.”
But Cashman’s endorsement of Gorsuch didn’t only come in words. On Wednesday, he signed his name to a letter sent to the US Senate. On the letter was more than 50 signatures from both Cashman and Gorsuch’s classmates, which specifically asked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader Charles Schumer of New York, Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and ranking member Diane Feinstein to welcome Gorsuch with an open mind.
According to the New York Post, the letter reads, in part, ““We are doctors, lawyers, teachers, writers, engineers, actors, civil servants, bankers, coaches, artists, consultants, entrepreneurs, and yes, the General Manager of a Major League Baseball team that has won the most World Series Championships in history.”
“The political process will play itself out, but I think you’d be hard-pressed to keep such a candidate out,” Cashman said. “I know the person. It’s not like I can speak to his judicial positions. But he’s as good a person as there is. He’s more than capable based on his résumé.
“There are obviously steps in the process. He’ll be vetted and properly so, and I’m sure when the dust settles, there’ll be a consensus that he is without a doubt a great choice for the court.”
Perhaps Gorsuch will be a great choice as a speaker at the next Class of ’85 reunion, too.
If you want to connect with Tom Hanslin, email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @tomhanslin.
