Appointed to the Supreme Court in 1993 by President Bill Clinton, 85-year-old US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Ginsburg, has never missed a day on the court—until now. Today, for the first time in her career as a Supreme Court Justice, Ginsburg did not join her fellow justices on the bench to hear oral arguments.

In 2014, liberals practically begged the then 80-year-old, Ruth Bader Ginsburg to retire from the US Supreme Court, so then-President Barack Obama could appoint her successor.

In 2015, US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg takes a nap during President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address.

The  image of Ginsburg snoozing during Obama’s speech was plastered all over social media.

When she was asked why she would not step down and let former President Barack Obama replace her with another like-minded liberal justice, Ginsburg told Elle magazine’s Jessica Weisberg, that it all comes down to the Senate:

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. As long as I can do the job full steam…. I think I’ll recognize when the time comes that I can’t any longer. But now I can.

Ginsburg’s point is that even though Democrats control the White House and the Senate, Republicans can still block a nominee to the Supreme Court that they feel is too liberal. As she reminds those calling for her to step down, when Senate Democrats reformed the filibuster rules last year so that they could confirm judicial appointments with a simple majority vote, they made an exception for Supreme Court nominees, who would still need a 60-vote majority to break a filibuster.

Did Ginsburg miss her window of opportunity to step down in 2014? Will the 85-year-old be the next Supreme Court Justice that President Trump will replace? The Democrats must certainly be in panic mode right now.

On November 7, 2018, the 85-year-old far left Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was hospitalized after reportedly taking a nasty fall in her home. Many have been waiting for the retirement of Justice Ginsburg, who was highly critical of  Donald Trump while he was a candidate for President, and who was a huge fan of Barack Obama’s.

REUTERS/Jason Reed

On December 21, 2018, the 85-yr-old Supreme Court Justice underwent surgery to remove cancerous nodules from her lungs.

Mike Valerio of WUSA9 tweeted a statement that was released by the Supreme Court of the United States regarding Ginsburg’s surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

The statement that was released today read:

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg underwent a pulmonary lobectomy at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Two nodules in the lower lobe of her left lung were discovered incidentally during tests performed at George Washington University Hospital to diagnose and treat rib fractures sustained in a fall on November 7. According to the thoracic surgeon, Valeria W. Rusch, MD, FACS, both nodules removed during surgery were found to be malignant on initial pathology evaluation. Post-surgery, there was no evidence of any remaining disease. Scans performed before surgery indicated no evidence of disease elsewhere in the body. Currently, no further treatment is planned. Justice Ginsburg is resting comfortably and is expected to remain in the hospital for a few days. Updates will be provided as they become available.

But former top-rated Fox News host, Bill O’Reilly wasn’t quite as optimistic about Ginsburg’s recovery, tweeting:

Justice Ginsburg is very ill. Another Justice appointment inevitable and soon. Bad news for the left.

Bill O’Reilly wasn’t the only one to call into question Ginsburg’s ability to serve on the court.

While Donald Trump was running for President, Ginsburg trashed his character, saying, “He is a faker. He has no consistency about him. He says whatever comes into his head at the moment. He really has an ego. … How has he gotten away with not turning over his tax returns? The press seems to be very gentle with him on that.”

During a New York Times interview, Ginsburg warned about a Trump presidency: “I can’t imagine what this place would be — I can’t imagine what the country would be — with Donald Trump as our president.”

On July 12, 2016, President Trump responded to Ginsburg’s criticism of him, calling on her to resign.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/753090242203283457

The Daily Wire reports – Court spokeswoman Kathleen Arberg stated that Ginsburg, 85, who has served on the court since 1993 after being nominated by former President Bill Clinton and being confirmed by a vote of 96-3, will still peruse briefs and a transcript of the two oral arguments scheduled for Monday, according to The Washington Post.

Ginsburg is a long-time survivor of cancer; she initially was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 1999; in 2009 she was diagnosed with a pancreatic cancer that was in a very early stage. Refusing to miss a day on the court, she scheduled the surgery for both problems on days when the court was not in session.

What do you think? Is it time for Ruth to call it quits, or should she hang on?

We’d love to hear what you think in the comment section below.

 

 

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