Ruth Bader Ginsburg signals she'll try to stay on the Supreme Court until after Trump might be out of office
- Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Sunday signaled she hopes to stay in the Supreme Court for at least another five years.
- "I have about at least five more years," Ginsburg said.
- Ginsburg, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton in 1993, was the second woman in US history to sit on the Supreme Court.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Sunday signaled she hopes to stay in the Supreme Court for at least another five years, according to CNN.
Such a timeline hints she is prepared to wait out at least one term of President Donald Trump's tenure in office.
Ginsburg, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton in 1993, is the second woman in US history to sit on the Supreme Court.
"I'm now 85. My senior colleague, Justice John Paul Stevens, he stepped down when he was 90, so think I have about at least five more years," Ginsburg said in New York after a production of "The Originalist," a play about Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February 2016.
Despite holding decidedly different political views, Ginsburg and Scalia were close friends. The octogenarian Supreme Court justice reiterated her admiration for Scalia on Sunday.
"If I had my choice of dissenters when I was writing for the court, it would be Justice Scalia," Ginsburg said, adding that their debates felt like a "ping-pong game" that played a key role in helping her formulate her arguments.
Following Scalia's passing, former President Barack Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland to fill his seat. Republicans in Congress refused to hold a confirmation hearing for Garland, however, and his nomination was ultimately blocked.
Scalia's seat was eventually filled by Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was nominated by Trump.
More recently, Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his plans to retire, prompting Trump to nominate Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Senate Democrats are now working diligently to derail Kavanaugh's confirmation.