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In A Tribute To Justice Ginsburg, Obama Calls On Senate To Delay Naming A Successor

President Barack Obama greets Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg prior to his 2012 State of the Union address.
Saul Loeb
/
AP
President Barack Obama greets Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg prior to his 2012 State of the Union address.

Former President Barack Obama paid tribute to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday, calling on Republicans to delay filling the vacancy left by her death until after the 2020 presidential election.

Ginsburg died from cancer complications earlier on Friday. She was 87.

In his statement, Obama called Ginsburg a "warrior for gender equality" who "inspired the generations who followed her, from the tiniest trick-or-treaters to law students burning the midnight oil to the most powerful leaders in the land."

Regarding the task of filling her Supreme Court seat, he asked Republicans to "apply rules with consistency, and not based on what's convenient or advantageous in the moment," referring to the precedent set when the Senate would not hold a hearing on his nomination of Merrick Garland in 2016 following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.

"Four and a half years ago, when Republicans refused to hold a hearing or an up-or-down vote on Merrick Garland, they invented the principle that the Senate shouldn't fill an open seat on the Supreme Court before a new president was sworn in," he said. "As votes are already being cast in this election, Republican Senators are now called to apply that standard."

The former president also referenced Ginsburg's "instructions for how she wanted her legacy to be honored." Before her death, she told her granddaughter, Clara Spera, that her "most fervent wish" was that she would not be replaced "until a new president is installed."

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The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.