Ruth Bader Ginsburg Says Senate Should Act on Merrick Garland

By JTA July 11, 2016

Ruth Bader Ginsburg said the Senate has an obligation to hold hearings and a vote on the Supreme Court nomination of Merrick Garland

“That’s their job,” she said. “There’s nothing in the Constitution that says the president stops being president in his last year.”

Garland, a judge in the Washington D.C. circuit, was nominated in March to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.

But the Republican Senate, citing the presidential campaign, has yet to hold a hearing on his credentials.

If confirmed, Garland would be the fourth Jewish justice on the nation’s highest court, which is comprised entirely of Jews and Catholics. Along with Ginsburg, the other Jewish members are Elena Kagan and Stephen Breyer.

“I think he is about as well qualified as any nominee to this court,” Ginsburg said of Garland. “Super bright and very nice, very easy to deal with. And super prepared. He would be a great colleague.”

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO