Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic California Rep. Maxine Waters quickly warned President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Friday against attempting to fill the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat.
Ginsburg passed away Friday night at the age of 87 from complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer, leaving a potentially heated political battle in her wake just weeks before a presidential election.
“The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice,” Schumer tweeted Friday night. “Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.”
The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) September 18, 2020
Schumer purposefully copied the words of McConnell in 2016 after news of the late Justice Antonin Scalina’s passing.
This is a direct, word-for-word quote of McConnell’s tweet after Scalia’s death in 2016. https://t.co/2WGE4erZ1L
— Kevin Robillard (@Robillard) September 18, 2020
Democratic California Rep. Maxine Waters encouraged Senate Democrats not to “back down.”
“Justice Ginsburg’s dying wish was that her seat would not be filled until a new president is installed!” Waters tweeted. “Senate Democrats, do not back down. You have a tough fight ahead but our future is on the line! No SCOTUS appointment before the election!!!” (RELATED: Trump Overtakes Biden, Reaches New Approval High In Latest Rasmussen Poll)
Justice Ginsburg’s dying wish was that her seat would not be filled until a new president is installed! Senate Democrats, do not back down. You have a tough fight ahead but our future is on the line! No SCOTUS appointment before the election!!!
— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) September 19, 2020
While Trump will almost certainly pick a replacement and McConnell has stated he intends to move to a Senate vote, it is unclear whether enough Republicans would vote to confirm.