Updated at 12:20 p.m. with information about upcoming Supreme Court cases.
WASHINGTON -- With a wide grin on his face, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch took the judicial oath in a Monday morning ceremony at the White House. Gorsuch now fills the seat that was left empty more than a year ago by the unexpected death of Antonin Scalia.
Gorsuch took his first oath, to support the constitution, earlier Monday morning at a private ceremony at the Supreme Court building. The judicial oath, which he took in the Rose Garden, was delivered by Justice Anthony Kennedy, for whom Gorsuch once worked as a clerk.
This is the first time in history that a former Supreme Court clerk will serve alongside the justice for whom he clerked.
At the sunny ceremony, President Donald Trump celebrated his most significant win since taking office in January — the appointment of a Supreme Court justice. Gorsuch is 49, and a seat on the Supreme Court is a lifetime appointment.
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“Spring is really the perfect backdrop for this joyful gathering of friends, because together we are in the process of reviewing and renewing, and also rebuilding, our country,” Trump said. “A new optimism is sweeping across our land.”
Trump also thanked Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for “all that he did to make this possible.” After Scalia's death, McConnell took on a bold strategy to keep the seat open through the duration of President Barack Obama’s final year.
McConnell's strategy, which included refusing to hold any hearings on Obama nominee Judge Merrick Garland, paid off when Trump won the election.
And last week, McConnell and other Senate Republicans voted to take the so-called "nuclear option," permanently changing the way Supreme Court nominations are voted on, in order to get Gorsuch confirmed. Gorsuch was confirmed by a 54-45 vote on Friday.
Trump noted that the appointment of a Supreme Court justice is one of the most influential decisions a president makes, and he expressed confidence in his choice.
"I have no doubt that you will go down as one of the truly great justices in the history of the Supreme Court," Trump told Gorsuch.
"And I got it done in the first 100 days!" he added, laughing. "You think that's easy?"
Gorsuch expressed appreciation for his good fortune in brief remarks at the Rose Garden ceremony.
"This process has reminded me just how outrageously blessed I am," he said.
Since Scalia's death in 2016, the eight justices have largely avoided cases where they would be likely to split 4-4.
When the justices tie for any reason, the judgment of the most recent lower court to hear the case is automatically upheld, but no broader precedent is established.
Now that the Supreme Court's vacancy has been filled and nine justices are seated, they could be more willing to take up those controversial cases.
Gorsuch might provide the key fifth vote on a major case as early as next week. On April 19, the justices will hear argument in Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer, a case about whether religious institutions have the right to receive money from secular federal government grant programs.
Legal experts say there’s a high chance the five Republican-appointed justices will rule in favor of the church, which could open the door to more government funding for religious institutions’ initiatives.
“That’s a case where his vote could be determinative,” said Joseph Kobylka, a Supreme Court expert at Southern Methodist University. “He could have a dramatic effect.”
Beyond his voting responsibilities, Gorsuch now assumes the title of "most junior justice," taking over from Justice Elena Kagan, who joined the court in 2010.
The most junior justice has a host of responsibilities, including serving on the court's cafeteria committee and opening and closing the door when the justices are in private conference.
Kagan has already filled Gorsuch in on his new duties, which she speculated are a way of "humbling people."
"You think you're kind of hot stuff. You're an important person. You've just been confirmed to the United States Supreme Court," she told an audience last year. "And now you are going to monthly cafeteria committee meetings where literally the agenda is what happened to the good recipe for the chocolate chip cookies."
Gorsuch will hear his first cases on April 17.
