Md. Senators React to Justice Ginsburg’s Death

Regardless of whether President Trump or his Democratic challenger, former vice president Joe Biden, appoints the next Supreme Court justice to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Maryland’s two U.S. senators, Benjamin L. Cardin (D) and Chris Van Hollen (D), will have a say on the next nominee.

Ginsburg died Friday at the age of 87, following battles with pancreatic cancer and other maladies.

“Our Nation has lost a jurist of historic stature,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said in a statement released by the Supreme Court Friday evening. “We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her — a tireless and resolute champion of justice.”

In a statement Friday night, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) — who held up a vote on President Obama’s nominee of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in 2016 — vowed to hold a vote on the Senate floor for whomever Trump nominates.

“President Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate,” he said.

Here are Cardin’s and Van Hollen’s statements on Ginsburg’s death.

Cardin, on Twitter: “Words are insufficient to describe the loss to our country. Justice Ginsburg was a trailblazer, a jurist and a public servant. She set a standard of excellence that few will ever match. On this Rosh Hashanah evening, my prayers are with her family and all those who cherished #RBG.”

Van Hollen, written statement: “This is a painful and devastating loss for our country. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an American hero, pioneer, and an inspiration to all. Our nation is so much better because of her courage and tireless fight for equality. We have a duty to protect her legacy on the Supreme Court.”

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