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- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat should not be filled until after the election.
- Ginsburg died on Friday at the age of 87.
- “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,” Schumer said.
- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the same exact statement following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in 2016.
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Senate Minority Chuck Schumer issued the same statement following the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday, that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in 2016.
Ginsburg died at the age of 87 due to complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer. The Supreme Court Justice battled multiple forms of cancer over the past two decades.
Following her death, Schumer said: “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.”
Ginsburg’s death comes just a few weeks before the November presidential election, and many are concerned about who President Donald Trump might select to replace her.
Her seat could be Trump’s third opportunity to nominate a lifetime appointee. The appointee could give the court a conservative majority for decades.
Ginsburg herself dictated a statement to her granddaughter, Clara Spera, which said, "My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed."
Following Scalia's death, McConnell said: "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."
A battle between Republicans and Democrats erupted following Scalia's death in February 2016, because some felt it would be too late for then-President Barack Obama to push a nominee through a polarized Senate.