Texas republican Senator Ted Cruz blocked a resolution honoring the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, saying that the resolution was partisan because it contained Ginsburg wish that she not be replaced until the after the next presidential inauguration, the Texas Tribune reports.
According to the Tribune:
“Unfortunately, the Democratic leader has put forth an amendment to turn that bipartisan resolution into a partisan resolution,” Cruz said in his floor remarks, referring to U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer.
“Specifically, the Democratic leader wants to add a statement that Justice Ginsburg’s position should not be filled until a new president is installed, purportedly based on a comment Justice Ginsburg made to family members shortly before she passed.
“That, of course, is not the standard,” he added. “Under the Constitution, members of the judiciary do not appoint their own successors.”
Cruz’s statement echoes claims from President Trump and other right-wing conspiracy theorists that Ginsburg’s wish to have her successor named by the person who wins the next presidential election was a fabrication created by Democratic leaders.
In fact, it was Ginsburg’s own granddaughter who transcribed her words days before she died.
The statement also runs counter to reports that former Justice Anthony Kennedy retired from the bench only upon assurances from President Trump that his seat would go to one of his former clerks, Brett Kavanaugh.