U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who broke down gender barriers, told her granddaughter before she died that her wish would not fill her seat until a new president was elected.
“My strongest wish is that I will not change until a new president is installed,” the NPR reported. Ginsberg told Clara Spira a few days after her death.
Jensberg died Friday at the age of 87.
Its passage leads to a major vacuum that dramatically shapes the country’s supreme court for years to come. The controversy over filling his seat for less than two months until the presidential election will be particularly tense.
Ginsberg was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1993 and vowed to stay as long as his health allowed. She was a champion of women’s rights and was revered by many as a feminist icon.
Changing it will not be a small task. In 2016, during the final year of President Barack Obama, political battles erupted after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Senate Republicans, despite fierce opposition from Democrats, were blocking Obama’s choice, Merrick Garland.
“The American people should have a voice in their choice of the next Supreme Court justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president,” Sen. Mitch McConnell said famously at the time.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer echoed those words on Friday. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski vowed not to vote for new justice until the November election, Alaska public media reported.
But McConnell indicated on Friday that choosing to replace Ginsberg would be very different than replacing Scalia. In a statement, he praised both Jinsberg’s heirs and assured Trump of his replacement.
“In the last midterm elections before the death of Justice Scalia in 2016, Americans elected a Republican Senate majority because we promised to examine and balance the last days of the second term of the lame-duck president,” McConnell’s statement read in part. “President Trump’s nominee will get a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.”
