--- title: Neil Gorsuch Was Stumped by Reddit's Duck-Horse Question description: Neil Gorsuch failed to answer whether he would rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck during his confirmation hearing canonical: https://time.com/4708665/neil-gorsuch-supreme-court-jeff-flake-horse-duck-reddit/ author: Mahita Gajanan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-21T22:41:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T03:57:40.861Z article:section: Politics og:title: Neil Gorsuch Asked If He'd Rather Fight Horse-Sized Duck or 100 Duck-Sized Horses og:description: The Supreme Court nominee wasn't expecting that question og:url: https://time.com/4708665/neil-gorsuch-supreme-court-jeff-flake-horse-duck-reddit/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt75c75acf3e6faa1f/6988bf552dce01f42a9ecb8d/gettyimages-633344768.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Supreme Court Nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch Meets Senators On Capitol Hill og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Neil Gorsuch Asked If He'd Rather Fight Horse-Sized Duck or 100 Duck-Sized Horses twitter:description: The Supreme Court nominee wasn't expecting that question twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt75c75acf3e6faa1f/6988bf552dce01f42a9ecb8d/gettyimages-633344768.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Senator Asked Neil Gorsuch If He'd Rather Fight a Horse-Sized Duck or 100 Duck-Sized Horses > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Mar 21, 2017 10:41 PM UTC  Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch looks on as Senate Judiciary chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) speaks to reporters before their meeting on Capitol Hill, February 1, 2017 in Washington, DC. Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch looks on as Senate Judiciary chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) speaks to reporters before their meeting on Capitol Hill, February 1, 2017 in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer—Getty Images by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Mar 21, 2017 10:41 PM UTC Supreme Court nominee [Neil Gorsuch](http://time.com/4708192/neil-gorsuch-confirmation-maternity-leave-dissertation/) failed to answer the very important question of whether he would rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck during his [confirmation hearing](http://time.com/4707901/neil-gorsuch-confirmation-roe-wade/) on Tuesday. The question, asked by Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake on behalf of his teenage son, is typically debated on [Reddit AMAs](https://www.reddit.com/r/tabled/comments/1199av/table%5Fwould%5Fyou%5Frather%5Ffight%5F100%5Fducksized%5Fhorses/), something Gorsuch, who appeared surprised, was not aware of. “I’m very rarely at a loss for words,” Gorsuch said in response. The [question](https://www.reddit.com/r/tabled/comments/1199av/table%5Fwould%5Fyou%5Frather%5Ffight%5F100%5Fducksized%5Fhorses/) has been previously put forth to several notable figures, including former presidential candidate Gary Johnson (horse-sized duck), the writer Nicholas Kristof (horse-sized duck) and the journalist Natalie Morales (100 duck-sized horses). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4708665/neil-gorsuch-supreme-court-jeff-flake-horse-duck-reddit/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4708665/neil-gorsuch-supreme-court-jeff-flake-horse-duck-reddit/"},"headline":"A Senator Asked Neil Gorsuch If He'd Rather Fight a Horse-Sized Duck or 100 Duck-Sized Horses","datePublished":"2017-03-21T22:41:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:57:40.861Z","description":"He wasn't expecting that question","url":"https://time.com/4708665/neil-gorsuch-supreme-court-jeff-flake-horse-duck-reddit/","keywords":["Supreme Court","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt75c75acf3e6faa1f/6988bf552dce01f42a9ecb8d/gettyimages-633344768.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt75c75acf3e6faa1f/6988bf552dce01f42a9ecb8d/gettyimages-633344768.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Supreme Court Nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch Meets Senators On Capitol Hill","caption":"Supreme Court Nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch Meets Senators On Capitol Hill","creditText":"Drew Angerer—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/supreme-court/","name":"Supreme Court"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4708665/neil-gorsuch-supreme-court-jeff-flake-horse-duck-reddit/","name":"A Senator Asked Neil Gorsuch If He'd Rather Fight a Horse-Sized Duck or 100 Duck-Sized Horses"}}]}] ```