United States President Donald trump picked federal judge Neil Gorsuch to be his nominee for the Supreme Court, AFP reported. Gorsuch will fill the seat left vacant by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February 2016. “He will make an incredible justice as soon as the Senate confirms him,” Trump said after nominating Gorsuch.

The president said this nomination has been “the most transparent and most important Supreme Court selection process”, Yahoo reported. “Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous disciple, and has earned bipartisan support,” Trump said.

Gorsuch has served on the Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Colorado since 2006. He is the youngest nominee to the Supreme Court in about 25 years. Gorsuch was a classmate of President Barack Obama’s at Harvard Law School, and later completed his doctorate in legal philosophy at the Oxford University. He is considered a conservative intellectual and is known for backing religious rights.

“It is the role of judges to apply, not alter, the work for the people’s representatives,” Gorsuch said after being nominated, adding that he was “honoured” and “humbled” with the selection. He also called the late Justice Scalia a “lion of the law”, BBC reported.

The nomination will have to be confirmed by the Senate. Some Democrats on the panel have already said they would seek to oppose whoever Trump nominates, Reuters reported.

In March 2016, President Barack Obama had picked appeals court judge Merrick Garland for the vacant post, however, the nomination was denied by the Republican-led US Senate. Last week, Trump had said evangelical Christians would love his nominee, Reuters added.