Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch has agreed to recuse himself from an upcoming case following a pressure campaign from activist groups and Democratic lawmakers.
Gorsuch, part of the court’s current 6-3 conservative majority, indicated on Wednesday that he would not be participating in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado, a case that will determine whether the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal agencies to consider “downline impacts” of projects like oil drilling operations.
Calls for the justice to recuse himself intensified due to his relationship with Philip Anschutz, a Colorado billionaire who built his fortune in the oil industry and could benefit from the court’s ruling. Gorsuch represented Anschutz while working as a corporate lawyer in the early 2000s.
This is a developing story and will be updated as further information becomes available.
