Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, denied claims by his former law student that he told a class that "many" women manipulate their employers for maternity benefits and that female interviewees should be specifically asked about pregnancy plans to protect the companies.
Jennifer R. Sisk, a 2016 graduate from University of Colorado Law School, provided her recollections of the class in a letter Friday to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court nominee said he was just reading questions in an ethics law textbook that asked what a woman would do if an older male partner asks if she's going to get pregnant soon.
According to the letter, after only a handful of students raised their hands responding to Gorsuch's question, the Supreme Court nominee egged on the topic and said, "C'mon guys."
He said the answers are to tell the truth, lie or push back in some way. He said he asked how many women had been asked questions like that, and many raised their hands.
Gorsuch said he is "shocked" that women are still asked that question.
—CNBC contributed to this post