House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) sounds more prepared to offer an inspiring vision of national leadership for America than President Donald Trump himself. Following the late Friday death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Pelosi has called for the late justice’s replacement to be someone who “upholds her commitment to equality, opportunity and justice for all.” During her long career in public service, Ginsburg fought many battles on behalf of gender equality. In contrast to Pelosi’s message, Trump quickly sounded more interested in getting a Republican ideologue in the seat.
‘The loss of Ruth Bader Ginsburg is devastating. Justice Ginsburg embodied justice, brilliance and goodness, and her passing is an incalculable loss for our democracy and for all who sacrifice and strive to build a better future for our children. Every family in America benefited from her brilliant legacy and courage… We must honor Justice Ginsburg’s trailblazing career and safeguard her powerful legacy by ensuring that the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court upholds her commitment to equality, opportunity and justice for all.’
Ruth Bader Ginsburg embodied justice, brilliance and goodness. Her passing is an incalculable loss for our democracy and for all who sacrifice and strive to build a better future for our children. pic.twitter.com/BufY4jXPR8
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) September 19, 2020
Read my full statement here: https://t.co/VYZr6KE7ak
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) September 19, 2020
Pelosi did not address the looming political fight over whether or not to confirm a replacement for Ginsburg with Trump still in charge. During the last year of then-President Barack Obama’s tenure, Senate Republicans refused to hold a vote on his nominee to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia. At the time, they cited the upcoming election as justification for their stonewalling, insisting that the American people should have a say in the Supreme Court confirmation process.
Anyone who agrees to accept Donald Trump's nomination to replace RBG should be condemned as a ghoulish, unprincipled opportunist desecrating the late justice's legacy. https://t.co/dMgl5K2G6c
— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) September 19, 2020
Now, McConnell suggests that the American people have had all the input that he’s willing to take from them. He claims that the original “principle” was about not filling a Supreme Court seat in an election year if the White House and Senate are controlled by different political parties, and since that’s not the case this year, he takes that as a go-ahead. Trump agrees — on Saturday morning, he tweeted that Senate Republicans have an “obligation” to confirm a Ginsburg replacement “without delay.” In other words — brazen political maneuvering, right from the get-go.
Check out Twitter’s response to Pelosi below:
