Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: I won't resign because of Senate Republicans
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says it is foolish to suggest she resign now, because there is no way President Obama could appoint a like-minded replacement.
Some on the left have called on the 81-year-old Ginsburg to retire soon in case a Republican wins the White House in 2016 and installs a conservative in her place. Yet in an interview with Elle, Ginsburg retorts that even if Obama wanted to replace her with a liberal Justice, Senate Republicans would assuredly block such a nominee.
Who do you think President Obama could appoint at this very day, given the boundaries that we have? If I resign any time this year, he could not successfully appoint anyone I would like to see in the court. [The Senate Republicans] took off the filibuster for lower federal court appointments, but it remains for this court. So anybody who thinks that if I step down, Obama could appoint someone like me, they're misguided. [Elle]
Ginsburg adds that as long as she can "do the job full steam" she plans to stick around.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
