U.S. SUPREME COURT building in Washington, D.C.

UPDATE: U.S. Appeals Court Judge Neil Gorsuch is President Donald Trump’s nominee for associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. The televised announcement was made at 5 p.m. Pacific time.

The choice is crucial because the current high court is split between four liberals and four conservatives, so this nomination of Gorsuch may significantly impact the court’s rulings on abortion, gun control and immigration.

The court has been short-handed since the death last year of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia. The president’s nomination must be approved by the Senate, where the Republicans hold

NEIL GORSUCH is the nominee for a Supreme Court seat.

an edge of 52 seats to the Democrats’ 48. A simple majority is needed for approval but Democrats could filibuster to prevent a vote. Sixty votes are needed for “cloture,” which ends debate and leads to a vote.

Gorsuch, 49, has served as a judge on the U.S. 10th District Court of Appeals in Denver since 2006. He is a Colorado native with a conservative judicial record. Previously, he has been a deputy attorney general with the U.S. Justice Department and clerked for Justice Anthony Kenndy.

He holds a B.A degree from Columbia University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.