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Donald Trump’s decision to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before the presidential election is an “abuse of power,” says his Democratic rival Joe Biden.
Trump has said that next week he will nominate a woman to replace the old liberal justice.
Biden has urged Senate Republicans to delay the confirmation vote.
Ginsburg, a liberal icon and feminist standard-bearer, died Friday at the age of 87.
Democrats fear Republicans will vote to secure a decades-long conservative majority in the nation’s highest court.
The ideological balance of the nine-member court is crucial to its rulings on the most important issues in American law.
What has Biden said about Trump’s decision?
During a speech at the Constitutional Center in Philadelphia on Sunday, Biden said the president had “made it clear that this is about power, pure and simple.”
“The United States constitution allows Americans the opportunity to be heard, and their voice must be heard … they must make it clear that they will not tolerate this abuse of power,” he said.
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Joe Biden: “Our country faces a choice: if we return from the abyss”
“I appeal to the Senate Republicans: follow your conscience, let the people speak, cool the flames that have been engulfing our country,” he said.
“Don’t vote to confirm anybody nominated in the circumstances that President Trump and Senator McConnell created. Don’t go there.”
Two Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, endorsed a delay in voting until after the November presidential election.
If they are joined by two more Republican senators, they could block or at least delay a confirmation vote, since Republicans have a majority of just six in the Senate.
In the event the vote is a tie, the United States Constitution allows Vice President Mike Pence to cast a tiebreaker vote.
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Biden said that if he won the presidential election, Trump’s nominee should be removed. He said he would then consult senators from both parties before presenting his choice.
He added that it would be a mistake to publish his list of potential Supreme Court candidates now, as this could expose some judges to political attack.
But she said her first supreme court election “will make history as the first African-American woman on the court.”
What has Trump said about Ginsburg’s successor?
Trump has promised to swear in Ginsburg’s successor “without delay.”
“I think it should be a woman because I actually like women a lot more than men,” she said at a campaign rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Saturday.
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President Trump said that Ginsburg’s successor will be a “very talented and very bright woman.”
Earlier, Trump praised two judges serving in federal appeals courts as possible options. Both justices, Amy Coney Barrett and Barbara Lagoa, are conservatives who would tip the balance of the Supreme Court in favor of the Republicans.
Democrats have vigorously opposed any nominations before the November elections, arguing that Senate Republicans blocked the election of Democratic President Barack Obama to the United States’ highest court in 2016.
At the time, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell justified the move by claiming it was an election year. But on Friday, Senator McConnell said he intended to act on any nomination Trump made and put it to a vote in the Senate before Election Day.
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The appointment of judges in the United States is a political matter, which means that the president can choose who he runs for. The Senate then votes to confirm or reject the election.
Ginsburg, the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court, died of metastatic pancreatic cancer at her home in Washington DC, surrounded by her family.
Ginsburg, who served for 27 years, was one of four Liberals on the nine-seat bench. His death means that if the Republicans succeed in passing the vote, the balance of power would shift decisively towards the Conservatives.
What does the Supreme Court do?
The highest court in the US is often the last word on highly controversial laws, disputes between states and the federal government, and final appeals to stay executions.
In recent years, the court has expanded gay marriage to all 50 states, allowed President Trump’s travel ban to be enacted and delayed a U.S. plan to cut carbon emissions while appeals progress.
- Why is the US Superior Court so important?
It also addresses issues like reproductive rights, one of the main reasons some pro-life conservatives want to tip the scales away from liberals.
Who are the main contenders?
- Barbara Lagoa: Cuban-American of the Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit based in Atlanta, she was the first Hispanic judge on the Florida Supreme Court. She is a former federal prosecutor
- Amy Coney Barrett: A member of the Chicago-based Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, she is a favorite of religious conservatives and known for her views against abortion. She was a legal scholar at Notre Dame Law School in Indiana.
- Kate Comerford Todd: Deputy White House Attorney, he has a lot of support within the White House. He served as a former Senior Vice President and Senior Counsel for the US Chamber Litigation Center.
