Conservatives who urged us to trust Trump on Supreme Court appointments have, in this case, been vindicated. Neil Gorsuch’s appointment prevents the creation of a compact, aggressive, liberal Supreme Court majority that would have ensured that even if the Left lost elections, it would never lose power. Gorsuch’s appointment delays the day when conservatives will be left with breaking the federal judiciary (whether through court-packing or jurisdiction-stripping) as the only avenue for reclaiming democratic politics. Good for Trump, and good for America.

One other note: Trump showed impressive deftness in appointing about as constitutionalist a judge as reasonably possible without a lot of superfluous culture-war friction. Liberals will still call Gorsuch an extremist or whatever, but it is clear that their hearts aren’t in it. William Pryor would have come with a ready-made story about religious-Right zealotry. A more ideologically ambiguous choice would have drawn suspicion from conservatives who have been burned by Republican presidents nominating unknowns who became judicial liberals. Gorsuch is right in the sweet spot.