Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hopes Cooler Heads Prevail On Supreme Court Vacancy

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said on Wednesday she hoped “cooler heads will prevail” over the vacancy on the Supreme Court, suggesting that Republicans should act on President Barack Obama’s nominee.

Ginsburg’s comments at Georgetown Law Center came a day after Democrats in the Republican-controlled Senate renewed their push for a confirmation hearing for Obama’s pick, appeals courtjudge Merrick Garland.

The nomination has been pending for 175 days without Senate action, the longest ever to the high court.

Republicans have said the next president should get to make the appointment because the vacancy, created by the death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia in February, came in the final year of Obama’s presidency.

“I do think that cooler heads will prevail, I hope sooner rather than later,” Ginsburg said.

Ginsburg, 83, a liberal appointed by Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1993, acknowledged that the Senate, which has the responsibility to confirm or reject judicial nominations, did not have to confirm the nominee. But she said it did have an obligation to at least consider Garland instead of taking no action at all.

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