Republican Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. said the U.S. Senate should hold off on filling the vacancy created by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death.
Hogan made the statement during an interview with Matt K. Lewis, senior columnist for The Daily Beast and commentator for CNN, during The Texas Tribune Festival. The interview was recorded after Ginsburg’s death and released Wednesday morning.
Lewis, who noted that Massachusetts Republican Gov. Charlie Baker has said President Donald Trump should wait to fill the vacancy until after Election Day, asked Hogan: “Where are you on this timely question?”
Here’s Hogan’s full response:
“First of all, I want to express my heartfelt condolences to Justice Ginsburg’s family and to all of her loved ones. …Regardless of where you stand politically, there’s so much to admire about Justice Ginsburg’s life an so much to learn from her example. She was a true public servant with a deep love of the law. She was a trailblazer for women’s rights and a fierce advocate for justice.”
“She displayed incredible courage throughout her life. Whether it was facing down discrimination in the workplace, or fighting multiple personal battles with cancer. And she showed that it’s possible to disagree without being disagreeable, that some things are above politics, which is what I talk about a lot.”
“I particularly admired her close friendship with Justice Scalia, even though they had strong political disagreements. But they both …they represented the best of the left and the right. The both understood that the American people need to have faith in the integrity of the judicial branch. So we can’t let her death create even more division in the country and perpetuate this toxic politics … that’s creating so much gridlock in Washington.”
“And I don’t think we should play partisan games with the Supreme Court. So I think it would be a mistake for the Senate to ram through a nominee before the election on a partisan line vote. Just as I think it would also be a mistake for the Democrats to question the integrity of the court or any of the nominees or try to pack the court.”
“I think there’s more than enough hypocrisy to go around on both sides. The American people deserve a dignified process, and I think that’s what they should [get],” Hogan concluded, as the recorded audio dropped out at the end of his remarks.
Lewis did not ask Hogan during the interview about whether he has ambitions for the presidency in 2024.
“We’ll save that for another conversation,” Lewis said.
Danielle E. Gaines
Contributor
Danielle Gaines worked for Maryland Matters from September 2018 to January 2024. She covered government and politics for Maryland Matters for two years before moving into an editing position, ultimately serving as editor-in-chief for nearly three years. Previously, she spent six years at The Frederick News-Post ― as the paper’s principal government and politics reporter for half that time, covering courts and legal affairs before that. She also reported for the now-defunct The Gazette of Politics and Business in Maryland and previously worked as a county government and education reporter at The Merced Sun-Star in California’s Central Valley.
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