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Biden says presidential winner should pick Ginsburg replacement

Published 09/18/2020, 09:55 PM
Updated 09/18/2020, 11:55 PM
© Reuters. Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Joe Biden speaks about the death of U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in New Castle, Delaware

© Reuters. Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Joe Biden speaks about the death of U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in New Castle, Delaware

By Jarrett Renshaw

NEW CASTLE, Del. (Reuters) - Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said on Friday that "there is no doubt" that the winner of November's presidential election should pick Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's replacement.

"There is no doubt - let me be clear - that the voters should pick the president and the president should pick the justice for the Senate to consider," Biden told reporters after learning of Ginsburg's death.

Biden's remarks appear to set the stage for a partisan fight over the judiciary that could dominate the fewer than seven weeks remaining until the Nov. 3 presidential election.

Ginsburg, a stalwart liberal on the Supreme Court since 1993, died on Friday at age 87, giving President Donald Trump a narrow window in which to expand the court's conservative majority with a third appointment during a tough re-election fight.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he intends to act on any nomination Trump makes. Biden's comments signal he and the party will fight such a move.

McConnell's stance reverses the position he took four years ago, when he refused to act on Democratic President Barack Obama's election-year nomination of centrist appeals court judge Merrick Garland to replace conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February 2016.

Some Democrats accused McConnell and his fellow Republicans of "stealing" a Supreme Court seat by blocking Garland's appointment. Biden, who was Obama's vice president, has said he wished Democrats had been "a whole heck of a lot harder" on McConnell during that fight.

McConnell's explained his position in a statement on Friday, saying that in 2016 the Senate and White House were controlled by different parties, while now they are both controlled by Republicans. Democrats have called McConnell's about-face hypocrisy.

The Democratic former vice president learned of Ginsburg's death while flying home from a campaign trip in Minnesota and he delivered brief remarks to reporters at an airport in New Castle, Del., without taking questions. As a senator, Biden presided over Ginsburg's confirmation hearings for the job in 1993.

"Ruth Bader Ginsburg stood for all of us," Biden said. "She has been absolutely consistent and reliable and a voice for freedom and opportunity for everyone."

Ginsburg's death could dramatically alter the ideological balance of the court, which already had a 5-4 conservative majority, moving it further to the right. The issue thrust courts into the center of an election that had been dominated by the coronavirus and its public health and economic consequences.

© Reuters. Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Joe Biden speaks about the death of U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in New Castle, Delaware

Trump on Sept. 9 unveiled a list of potential nominees to fill any future Supreme Court vacancies in a move aimed at bolstering support among conservative voters. Biden has pledged to name a Black woman to the Supreme Court but so far has resisted unveiling his own list of nominees.

Latest comments

Nope.
Biden is brain dead. What does his opinion matter anyway.
lol Joe does not even know he is running 🤣
ok Joe.come up with that as I sat in your basement huh?how worthless can one man be
Joe, first start talking like a leader. You talk like a lazy person. You will not be able to handle all these , too fast for you.
Trump should try to get Giuliani a job before he’s indicted for fraud guarentee. He only hires the best.
It’s fair.
So now Joe Biden wants Donald Trump to choose her replacement instead of Donald Trump choosing her replacement? Your confused again Joe. If it makes you feel any better Joe the winner will be making the choice.
we were wondering what biden was thinking- so is he?
Trump can nominate him after the election or before. it makes no difference. Kamala won't win
Yeah...and the democrats should start working WITH the president for the good of America, but we all know that isnt going to happen!!
the voters did pick the President and his name is Donald Trump
he can wait till nov 2 besides 6 weeks will pass before an con formation
The only president since Jimmy Carter to lose the popular vote.
That doesn't mean we still support him.. the way he's. botched the virus is unforgivable, so much blood on those hands.
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