
Source: Samuel Corum / Getty
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, affectionately known by her initials — RBG — has passed away. On Twitter, many are honoring the U.S. Supreme Court Justice while also noting the machinations of the Trump administration to fast-track a replacement on the high court’s bench.
From a press release issued by the Supreme Court:
Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died this evening surrounded by her family at her home in Washington, D.C., due to complications of metastatic pancreas cancer. She was 87 years old. Justice Ginsburg was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Clinton in 1993. She was the second woman appointed to the Court and served more than 27 years. She is survived by her two children: Jane Carol Ginsburg (George Spera) and James Steven Ginsburg (Patrice Michaels), four grandchildren: Paul Spera (Francesca Toich), Clara Spera (Rory Boyd), Miranda Ginsburg, Abigail Ginsburg, two step-grandchildren: Harjinder Bedi, Satinder Bedi, and one great-grandchild: Lucrezia Spera. Her husband, Martin David Ginsburg, died in 2010.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. said of Justice Ginsburg: “Our Nation has lost a jurist of historic stature. 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.”
Ginsburg was born March 15, 1933, in Brooklyn, N.Y, first attending Cornell University and then marrying her late husband, Martin Ginsburg, in 1954. After obtaining an undergraduate degree from Cornell, Ginsburg entered Harvard Law School as one of the few women who attended the school before transferring to Columbia Law School. She then began life as an educator with Rutgers Law School and also Columbia.
President Jimmy Carter appointed Ginsburg to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1980, serving there until she was appointed to the nation’s highest court by President Bill Clinton, taken her oath as an Associate Justice in August 1993.
Because of her resilience, strong dissents as a liberal justice, and hailing from Brooklyn, the RBG nickname came as an obvious nod to the late rapper, The Notorious B.I.G.
While the nation rightly is joined in mourning the massive loss, Sen. Mitch McConnell is already angling to name a new justice to the bench in the midst of the general election in November. Some on Twitter are raising the point that the U.S. Senate famously held up President Barack Obama’s appointment in 2016.
We’ve scoured Twitter for some reactions to the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
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Photo: Getty
#RIPRBG: Twitter Mourns The Passing Of The Hon. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was originally published on hiphopwired.com
1.
We love you RBG #RestInPowerRBG pic.twitter.com/jRX2DcHVcK
— Operation Frederick Douglass (@OpFDouglass) September 19, 2020
2.
#BREAKING: New York will honor the life and legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with a statue in Brooklyn, her birthplace.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) September 19, 2020
This statue will serve as a physical reminder of Justice Ginsburg's monumental contributions to the America we know today and as an inspiration for all. pic.twitter.com/iwvo7c3JOw
3.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s body isn’t even cold and Mitch McConnell is dancing on her grave. This is war. Dems have powerful weapons. Now is the time to use them.
— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) September 19, 2020
4.
major thanks to this badass. rest in peace & power #RBG now, let’s all PLEASE just fucking vote! i feel especially inclined to mention how much our reproductive rights are at stake - please excuse me for the dramatics but i don’t want to be a handmaid in this lifetime. LET’S VOTE pic.twitter.com/vp6Ykfzv26
— hayley from Paramore 🌺 (@yelyahwilliams) September 19, 2020
5.
"Justices continue to think and can change. I am ever hopeful that if the court has a blind spot today, its eyes will be open tomorrow." -RBG
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) September 19, 2020
A tremendous loss. A tremendous legacy.
Photo by Jose R. Lopez. pic.twitter.com/z1kBwUUzka
6.
One voter told me: “I was already anticipating on coming out to vote early but after the passing of RBG last night, I made sure I was here at 7:30 this morning...We need to come out to vote like our lives depend on it so that's why I'm here.”
— Amanda Golden (@amandawgolden) September 19, 2020
More coming up on @MSNBC https://t.co/Emev8I55T8
7.
Just last week, trump announced that he'd nominate both Ted Cruz AND Tom Cotton to SCOTUS.
— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) September 19, 2020
TODAY, trump tells GOP Senators to fill RBG's now-vacant Supreme Court seat "without delay."
It should make your skin crawl.
8.
How truly horrible is it that we can’t fully mourn/grieve the monumental loss of RBG without both fearing for our future and our democracy at the same time? Ugh.
— Ricky Davila (@TheRickyDavila) September 19, 2020
9.
Bernie supporters who refuse to vote 4 Biden have a decision.
— Kirk Acevedo🇺🇸 (@kirkacevedo) September 19, 2020
RBG’s death should be awake up call 2 all progressives.
Republicans will appoint a Justice who’ll overturn Roe V. Wade
and the ACA.
Not only is progressive politics at stake but so is the future of our Republic!
VOTE
10.
I don’t believe Trump just found out that RBG just died when he was interviewed. He knew before. Too many people on that plane and him with notifications on phones plus he is the fucking president and he isn’t going to just find out after everyone else.
— Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) September 19, 2020