There remain significant cases to decide this Supreme Court term, including on gerrymandering and a controversial citizenship question being added to the census. I cannot predict how those cases will turn out, but I am certain of one thing, which is that Gorsuch deserves an apology. Many liberal advocates lambasted him despite his stellar reputation as an appellate judge. His actual record was irrelevant to them, and it likely will mean little to them that Gorsuch has now shown more flexibility than certain members in the left wing of the Supreme Court.

At the confirmation hearing for Gorsuch, I told the Senate a story about Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes traveling by train to Washington. When the conductor asked for his ticket, Holmes searched high and low for it until the conductor reassured him, “Don’t worry about your ticket. We all know who you are. When you get to your destination, you can find it and just mail it to us.” Holmes responded, “My dear man, the problem is not my ticket. The problem is, where am I going?” It is an uncertainty that many new Supreme Court justices face. However, I told the Senate, “I can say where Gorsuch is going. He will go wherever his conscience takes him, regardless of whether it proves a track to the left or the right.” That is precisely where Gorsuch has ended up. He is moving on his own track.