Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Friday due to complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer. She died peacefully in her home surrounded by family at the age of 87. Appointed to the court in 1993 by Bill Clinton, Ginsburg was known for her liberal views and voting record on progressive issues.
The country mourns the passing of the liberal icon. Senate Republicans wasted no time in announcing that they will hold hearings to replace Ginsburg's seat on the Supreme Court. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell issued the following statement from his twitter account. "The Senate and the nation mourn the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the conclusion of her extraordinary American life."
Senate Democrats are apoplectic over the decision to allow the President to choose another member of the court. Chuck Schumer, Senate democrat leader issued the following statement upon hearing of Ginsburg's passing. "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".
Twitter was ablaze with comments decrying Schumer's statement as cold and not compassionate.
Reza Aslan social media influencer with 292K followers issued the following statement.
Even Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama and assistant to the president for public engagement and intergovernmental affairs from 2009 to 2017 weighed in on the passing replying to Judge Preet Bharara, "My guess is #RBG would want you to grieve by fighting."
According to SupremeCourt.gov, "The President nominates someone for a vacancy on the Court and the Senate votes to confirm the nominee, which requires a simple majority. In this way, both the Executive and Legislative Branches of the federal government have a voice in the composition of the Supreme Court".
Presidential Candidate Joe Biden weighed in on the replacement with his catchphrase, "Let me be clear," "Let me be clear: The voters should pick a President, and that President should select a successor to Justice Ginsburg."
The rule is that there will be no confirmations in an election year when different parties control the Senate and the White House. Republicans control both and are entitled to make the SCOTUS pick.
President Trump ordered flags be lowered at half-mast and issued the following statement from his Twitter account:
If the President wants to fill the position before the election, it will certainly be close. The election is 46 days away, and the average length of time it takes to confirm a justice is around 25 days, according to ThoughtCo. The current justices have taken considerably longer to confirm.
On the President's list of potential nominees to replace Ginsburg's seat is, Senator Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Tom Cotton, and according to ABC and Bloomberg, Amy Coney Barrett is considered a leading contender.
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