Lawmakers React to Death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Reactions to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death Friday focused, in large part, on how the court vacancy should be filled and whether President Trump, who is up for re-election on Nov. 3, could justifiably seek to appoint a new justice to the court so close to the election.
"The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president," Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on Twitter.
The quote is a direct callback to a remark made by his Republican counterpart on the Senate, Mitch McConnell, who famously blocked the nomination of Merrick Garland to the court, following the unexpected death of the late-Justice Antonin Scalia in 2016.
McConnell on Friday evening said the nation mourned the "conclusion of [Ginsburg's] extraordinary American life." But the controversial Republican concluded his statement saying: "President Trump's nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate."
Ginsburg, a champion for women's rights and social justice, died from complications from cancer on Friday at age 87, the Supreme Court court announced. It was her fifth bout with the disease that was also responsible for the death of her mother.
Shortly before her death, in a statement dictated to her granddaughter, the liberal firebrand said:
"My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new President is installed."
Many remembered Ginsburg, the second woman to serve on the nation's highest court, as a paragon of integrity and legal skill.
"The loss of Ruth Bader Ginsburg is devastating," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. "Justice Ginsberg embodied justice, brilliance and goodness, and her passing is an incalculable loss for our democracy and for all who sacrifice and strive to build a better future for our children."
She added, "We must honor Justice Ginsburg's trailblazing career and safeguard her powerful legacy by ensuring that the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court upholds her commitment to equality, opportunity and justice for all." [Copyright 2020 NPR]
