WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (all times local):
9:15 p.m.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death is “an incalculable loss for our democracy and for all who sacrifice and strive to build a better future for our children.”
The Democratic leader said Friday that Congress must ensure that the person who replaces Ginsburg on the court “upholds her commitment to equality, opportunity and justice for all.”
The liberal justice died Friday of complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer at age 87.
Pelosi said Ginsburg’s ”tireless advocacy in the fight for gender equality” leaves “an enduring legacy of progress for all women,” and her legal opinions “have unequivocally cemented the precedent that all men and women are created equal.”
Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says the Senate will vote on whomever President Donald Trump picks to replace Ginsburg on the Supreme Court, even though it’s an election year — the reason he gave for not voting on President Barack Obama’s court pick in 2016.
9:10 p.m.
Hundreds of people have gathered outside the U.S. Supreme Court to mourn the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Dozens in the crowd were lighting candles on Friday night and sat somberly on the high court’s steps. Ginsburg died Friday of metastatic pancreatic cancer at age 87 after 27 years on the court.
The crowd left candles, flowers, small American flags and handwritten condolence messages. Some wept as they placed the bouquets of flowers on the steps. “RBG” was also drawn inside a pink chalk heart in the sidewalk. Flags outside the court were also flying at half staff.
Jennifer Berger was among those who had gathered outside the courthouse. The 37-year-old said she wanted to show her support and pay tribute to Ginsburg.
Ginsburg spent her final years on the bench as the unquestioned leader of the court’s liberal wing and became something of a rock star to her admirers. Young women especially seemed to embrace the court’s Jewish grandmother, affectionately calling her the Notorious RBG, for her defense of the rights of women and minorities.
9 p.m.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says the Senate will vote on President Donald Trump’s pick to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court, even though it’s an election year.
The Republican Senate leader issued a statement Friday night, about an hour and a half after the Supreme Court announced the liberal justice’s death from complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer.
When conservative Justice Antonin Scalia died in February 2016, also an election year, McConnell refused to act on President Barack Obama’s nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to fill the opening. The seat remained vacant until after Trump’s surprising presidential victory.
Trump ended up nominating Neil Gorsuch, who was confirmed to the court.
The 2020 election is 46 days away.
McConnell had earlier said he would move to confirm a Trump nominee if there were a vacancy this year.
7:40 p.m.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a diminutive yet towering women’s rights champion who became the court’s second female justice, has died at her home in Washington. She was 87.
The court says Ginsburg died Friday of complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer.
Ginsburg announced in July that she was undergoing chemotherapy treatment for lesions on her liver, the latest of her several battles with cancer.
Ginsburg spent her final years on the bench as the unquestioned leader of the court’s liberal wing and became something of a rock star to her admirers. Young women especially seemed to embrace the court’s Jewish grandmother, affectionately calling her the Notorious RBG, for her defense of the rights of women and minorities, and the strength and resilience she displayed in the face of personal loss and health crises.
Those health issues included five bouts with cancer beginning in 1999, falls that resulted in broken ribs, insertion of a stent to clear a blocked artery and assorted other hospitalizations after she turned 75.
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