Gorsuch declines to say whether Trump travel policy is legal

Judge Neil Gorsuch refused to tip his hand on how he might rule on President Trump’s extreme vetting executive order, telling senators Tuesday that he wouldn’t want to hurt his ability to hear the case either on his current appeals court or on the Supreme Court, should he win confirmation.

But he did say that as a judge he respects freedom of religious practice, which Mr. Trump’s critics say had been infringed by the new executive order, which they say is the evolution of the president’s campaign promise for a Muslim ban.

“We have a Free Exercise Clause that protects the free exercise of religious liberties by all persons in this country,” Judge Gorsuch said as he testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Lower federal courts — though not Judge Gorsuch’s 10th Circuit Court of Appeals — have halted Mr. Trump’s policy, saying its targeting of six majority-Muslim countries makes it an unfair attack on a religious minority.

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