Mother ran EPA; accused of being soft on polluters
Gorsuch does not have a record of strident comments that would fuel a confirmation fight. However, he knows firsthand the rough side of political battles. His mother, Anne Gorsuch Burford, was a conservative
Colorado state legislator and a states' rights advocate when President Reagan chose her in 1981 to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.
She was soon caught up in battles with environmentalists and Democrats on Capitol Hill for allegedly going soft on polluters. She was held in contempt of Congress in 1983 for refusing to turn over documents.
She said she had followed the legal advice of the Justice Department. Nonetheless, she was forced to resign in 1983 because the White House saw her as a political distraction. She returned to Colorado and died in 2004.
