WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated Judge Neil M. Gorsuch to fill the Supreme Court seat left open by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, elevating a jurist whose conservative bent and philosophy fit the mould of the man he would succeed.

“Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support,” Trump said, standing beside the judge and his wife, Louise, in the East Room of the White House. “It is an extraordinary resumé — as good as it gets.”

If confirmed, Gorsuch, a federal appeals court judge in Denver, would restore the 5-4 split between liberals and conservatives on the court, handing Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, 80, who votes with both blocs, the swing vote.

At 49, Gorsuch is the youngest nominee to the Supreme Court in 25 years, underscoring his potential to shape major decisions for decades to come. In choosing him, Trump reached for a reliably conservative figure in the Scalia tradition but not someone known to be divisive.

Trump, who recognized Scalia’s wife, Maureen, in the audience as he announced his choice, heaped praise on the “late, great” jurist, saying his “image and genius was in my mind throughout the decision-making process.”

Gorsuch said he was humbled by his “most solemn assignment.”

“I will do all my powers permit to be a faithful servant of the Constitution and laws of this great country,” he said. He also praised Scalia as “a lion of the law.”

The announcement presaged a bitter political battle on Capitol Hill, where Democrats in the Senate, still stung by the Republican refusal to confirm president Barack Obama’s nominee for the seat, Judge Merrick B. Garland, have promised stiff resistance.

A Colorado native who was in the same class at Harvard Law School as Obama, Gorsuch is known for his well-written, measured opinions that are normally, though not exclusively, conservative. He holds a PhD from Oxford University, where he was a Marshall Scholar, and a pedigree as a law clerk at the Supreme Court to justices Byron R. White and Kennedy. President George W. Bush nominated Gorsuch to the federal bench in 2006.

Gorsuch’s personal connections to Kennedy are no accident. By choosing a familiar figure, several officials said, the White House is sending a reassuring signal to Kennedy, 80, who has been mulling retirement.

Choosing a more ideologically extreme candidate, the officials said, could tempt Justice Kennedy to hang on to his seat for several more years, depriving Trump of another seat to fill.

Still, Gorsuch’s conservative credentials are not in doubt. He has voted in favour of employers, including Hobby Lobby, who invoked religious objections for refusing to provide some forms of contraception coverage to their female workers. And he has criticized liberals for turning to the courts rather than the legislature to achieve their policy goals.

There had been speculation that Trump would choose someone with a less elite background for the court. The other finalist for the post, Judge Thomas M. Hardiman, was the first person in his family to graduate from college, and helped pay for his education by driving a taxi.

The White House had stoked suspense over Trump’s court choice in the hours before announcing it. A senior Trump administration official said both Gorsuch and Hardiman, the apparent runner-up, were summoned to Washington for the nomination ceremony. But only Gorsuch appeared at the ceremony shortly after 8 p.m.

In an allusion to the intense foreshadowing he and his team had done to build speculation over the pick, Trump interrupted his own announcement to marvel at his showmanship: “So was that a surprise?” the president said after announcing Gorsuch’s name. “Was it?”

The East Room was filled with White House officials, Republican lawmakers and reporters as Trump revealed his choice.

The president, staring down what is likely to be a bitter partisan battle over Gorsuch’s confirmation, expressed hope that he could avoid such a dispute.

“I only hope that both Democrats and Republicans can come together for once, for the good of the country,” Trump said.

Gorsuch is the son of Anne Gorsuch Burford, who became the first female head of the Environmental Protection Agency under President Ronald Reagan. He attended Georgetown Preparatory School, outside Washington, before going to Columbia University.

Democrats, who declined invitations from Trump to attend the White House announcement ceremony, seemed unlikely to be satisfied with Trump’s choice. Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, has said he is ready to block any candidate he sees as outside the mainstream, a stance that could touch off a Senate showdown.

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Gorsuch will need to draw the support of eight Democrats to join the 52 Republicans in the Senate to surmount a filibuster and move forward with an up-or-down confirmation vote. But Trump is already urging Republicans to change long-standing rules and push through his nominee on a simple majority vote.

Progressive groups were already planning a rally in front of the court on Tuesday night, anticipating an “extreme” nominee.

“Activists will make clear that the Senate cannot confirm a nominee who will simply be a rubber stamp for President Trump’s anti-constitutional efforts that betray American values,” according to a statement from the organizations, which include People for the American Way, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and NARAL Pro-Choice America.

Conservative groups, too, were planning a major push to defend Trump’s nominee. Within minutes of the president’s announcement, organizers said, the Judicial Crisis Network was to begin the first phase in a $10 million television advertising campaign on the nominee’s behalf, along with a website promoting Trump’s pick. More than 50 groups were backing the effort, including gun rights and anti-abortion rights activists and the Tea Party.

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