A ceremonial resolution honoring the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was pulled after Sen. Ted Cruz objected to language added by the chamber’s top Democrat about the liberal icon’s dying wish.
“All the kind words and lamentations about Justice Ginsburg from the Republican majority will be totally empty if those Republicans ignore her dying wish and instead replace her with someone who will tear down everything she built,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said regarding the resolution.
Cruz objected to the inclusion of the wish, arguing that the Constitution states that justices do not get to appoint their successor.
“The Democratic leader wants to add a statement that Justice Ginsburg’s position should not be filled until a new president is installed, purportedly based on a comment Justice Ginsburg made to family members shortly before she passed,” the Texas Republican said. “That, of course, is not the standard. Under the Constitution, members of the judiciary do not appoint their own successors.”
Schumer accused Cruz of using Ginsburg’s “dying words” against her, but Cruz refused to yield. He argued that the inclusion of Ginsburg’s deathbed wish was “beneath the dignity” of the Senate. The resolution failed to pass.
Ginsburg died at the age of 87 on Friday due to complications with cancer. Her granddaughter told NPR that the justice’s “most fervent” wish is that she would not be replaced “until a new president is installed.”
