The death of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg turned a theoretical debate over the Supreme Court into a battle of the highest and most significant political order.
Coming just 45 days before the Nov. 3 presidential election, the passing of the 87-year-old jurist and mainstay of the court’s liberal wing ensures the court and its sway over the daily lives of Americans will be a front-and-center issue like no other in modern times.
Shortly after her death was announced, Greg Schultz, a senior adviser to Democrat Joe Biden’s campaign, tweeted, “THIS ELECTION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION EVER.”
Hyperbole aside, few in the heat of the moment were inclined to disagree.
The battle lines were clear and immediate.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Republicans would press ahead with filling the vacancy.
“President Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate,” he said in a written statement.
Democrats, stunned and bereft and fearing a conservative majority cemented for generations to come, argued that Republicans who control the Senate must hold off approving a successor until voters have the chance the weigh in less than two months from now.
“The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice,” said Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. “Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.”
Democrats cited the precedent set by McConnell in 2016 after conservative Justice Antonin Scalia died suddenly in February of that election year. President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland, a well-regarded federal appeals court judge, but McConnell said voters should have a say in replacing Scalia and he declined to schedule a vote or even hold hearings on Garland’s nomination.
President Donald Trump filled the vacancy with conservative appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch after being elected.
Despite that history, McConnell suggested there was no contradiction in now pressing ahead.
“In the last midterm election before Justice Scalia’s death in 2016, Americans elected a Republican Senate majority because we pledged to check and balance the last days of a lame-duck president’s second term,” he said. “We kept our promise.”
“By contrast, Americans reelected our majority in 2016 and expanded it in 2018 because we pledged to work with President Trump and support his agenda, particularly his outstanding appointments to the federal judiciary. Once again, we will keep our promise,” McConnell said.
There was no immediate reaction from Trump, who was campaigning in Minnesota. As he talked about the next president getting to appoint up to four justices, someone in the crowd shouted, “Ginsburg is dead!” He didn’t seem to hear and kept on talking.
His Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, who was flying home from an appearance in the state earlier Friday, also had no immediate comment.
Ginsburg reportedly made her preference known in the days before her passing. As her strength waned, NPR reported, the justice dictated this statement to her granddaughter Clara Spera: “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”
At least one Republican seemed poised to break party ranks.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said last month it would be a “double standard” to fill a Supreme Court vacancy before 2021 and she “would not support it.”
In addition to the presidential race, Ginsburg’s death will also roil the fight for control of the Senate, putting fresh pressure on Republicans in tough reelection races like Sen. Susan Collins of Maine who have been wooing swing voters by emphasizing her independence from Trump.
Her Democratic opponent, Sara Gideon, issued a statement praising Ginsburg’s record on women’s rights and reproductive rights and said, “Let us continue that fight in her memory and be inspired by her example for generations to come.”
Biden’s running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, sits on the Judiciary Committee, which would hold hearings on any nominee. California’s other senator, Dianne Feinstein, is the senior Democrat on the committee.
In Washington, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ordered the flag flying over the Capitol to be lowered to half staff.
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