Justice Ginsburg’s passing ignites skirmish over the Supreme Court

Last month, the United States lost Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a legendary figure whose achievements paved the way for women’s rights. Justice Ginsburg was a force to be reckoned with. Her long list of accomplishments, including barring discrimination in the workplace based on reproductive choices, highlight a storied career. 

 “Our nation has lost a justice of historic stature…Today we mourn but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her, a tireless and resolute champion of justice.”said Chief Justice John Roberts, a long time colleague of Ginsburg. 

Justice Ginsburg was only the fourth woman to be nominated to the Supreme Court. President Donald Trump’s preferred replacement, Amy Coney Barrett, may well become the fifth. 

In an already contentious election year, outrage sparked over the matter of the next Supreme Court Justice. Many Democrats are speaking out against nominating a justice to the Supreme Court in an election year, claiming that nominating one before the election would not be reflective of the will of the country’s 330 million inhabitants. 

Joe Biden, the Democrats’ nominee for the 2020 Presidential Election, said he believes that “the Senate shouldn’t vote until the American people do.” 

According to a Poll conducted by ABC News and the Washington Post, 52% of Americans agree that the winner of the upcoming Presidential election should decide Justice Ginsburg’s replacement, and that the Senate should postpone the appointment of the nominee until next year. 

Even Justice Ginsburg weighed in on when she thought a new Supreme Court Justice should be chosen. Just before her death, she dictated a sentence to her Granddaughter saying, “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”

Despite this, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) has cooperated with President Trump on his ambitions to nominate Barrett to the Supreme Court. This is a reversal of his stance back in 2016, when Justice Antonin Scalia passed away. McConnell tweeted Feb 13 of 2016 that “The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice.”

On Monday, the first in a long week of Senate Confirmation Hearings, Barrett said in her opening statement, “I have been nominated to fill Justice Ginsburg’s seat, but no one will ever take her place. I will be forever grateful for the path she marked and the life she led.”

Barrett thanked President Trump in her remarks for “entrusting [her] with this profound responsibility,” and called it the “honor of a lifetime.”