Washington (CNN) Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's cancer surgery and ongoing recuperation has cast an atmosphere of uncertainty over the Supreme Court at a critical time for its future and as the legal fate of several controversial White House policies hang in the balance.

Ginsburg, who was forced to miss oral arguments this week and will not be on the bench next week, has given no indication that she wants to step down. In fact, before her recent illness, the iconic justice who has served for a quarter century spoke of staying another five years.

But if she were to leave the bench, President Donald Trump, who appointed successors to Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy, would have his first chance to replace a confirmed liberal with a solid conservative.

The significance would be enormous long term, of course. Yet even in the short term, this is a sensitive time for the Supreme Court as it is establishing the final contours of its 2018-19 session and facing multiple battles over Trump administration policies

The justices already have high-profile disputes over the administration's plan for a citizenship question on the 2020 Census, religious monuments on public land and partisan gerrymanders on their agenda. They could announce as soon as Monday if they would add questions related to abortion rights, LGBTQ discrimination and the efforts by Trump to end the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that protects from deportation young undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children.

Ginsburg, who will turn 86 in March, is recuperating at her Washington, DC, home. She has been reading legal briefs and participating in cases by relaying her votes to the other justices.

Uncertainty is not a new condition for a nine-member bench that over the past three years experienced the death of Scalia, more than a year with only eight justices, the resignation of Kennedy and volatile confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh that delayed his arrival at the start of the current term.

Ginsburg underwent surgery on December 21 to remove malignant nodules on her left lung, discovered in a medical check after she had fallen and broken three ribs in early November.

JUST WATCHED How RBG became an equal rights icon Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH How RBG became an equal rights icon 01:00

A court spokeswoman said on Friday that a post-surgery evaluation showed "no evidence of remaining disease , and no further treatment is required."

Despite the seriousness of the lung operation, Ginsburg had left open the possibility that she might return for the two-week January oral arguments that began last Monday and continues to January 16. A survivor of two prior cancer surgeries, in 1999 and 2009, Ginsburg had made it a point of pride that she missed no oral arguments during those episodes.

But this time that was not possible.

She could now have her goal be the February sitting, which follows a scheduled four-week Supreme Court recess and begins February 19.

After her bouts with colorectal cancer in 1999 and pancreatic cancer in 2009, Ginsburg demonstrated a remarkable resiliency. Now, a decade later, the outcome of her current health battle is likely to be evident only with more time.

In recent years Ginsburg has become a cultural phenomenon, her life portrayed in film, books and television. Bloggers and other fans tagged her with the moniker Notorious RBG (a play on the late rapper Notorious B.I.G.) and have celebrated everything from her liberal dissents to iron-pumping workouts. Before becoming a judge, first on a lower court in 1980, she was a women's right advocate who argued six cases before the Supreme Court.

Oral arguments and closed-door conferences

During oral arguments this week, held Monday through Wednesday, Ginsburg's absence was manifest in multiple ways. Before each session, Chief Justice John Roberts announced that she would still be taking part in the resolution of cases through reading briefs and argument transcripts.

For regular court observers, her missing voice was notable. Sitting to Roberts' immediate left, based on her seniority, Ginsburg often asks the first question and actively presses lawyers on her points. She is the leader of the four liberals -- all Democratic appointees -- on a court generally controlled by the five conservative justices -- all Republican appointees.

Oral arguments on cases are an important part of the resolution of a dispute, but they are secondary to the written briefs and prior case law on which justices base their decisions. Arguments tend to be a forum for testing the lawyers' dueling positions and for the justices themselves to telegraph positions to their fellow justices. The nine typically do not discuss cases before oral arguments; rather, they vote in private after the sessions each week.

Ginsburg's absence comes at a complicated time for the court, as the justices are making choices this month on which final cases to add to their 2018-19 calendar. Oral arguments are held through April and decisions usually come by the end of June.

The justices meet in private on those agenda-setting choices, as well as the resolution of cases heard. In order of seniority, they go around the table casting votes and explaining their reasoning. Yet, the court is a place where much persuasion occurs in writing, rather than in conversation. Their ultimate decisions are the result of multiple drafts and memos circulated among the chambers of the nine over several weeks.

Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Washington in 2013. She is the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court. Hide Caption 1 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg was born Joan Ruth Bader on March 15, 1933. Here she is at 2 years old. Hide Caption 2 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg A photo of Ginsburg from her high school yearbook. Hide Caption 3 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg, 13, sits immediately to the left of Rabbi Harry Halpern at the East Midwood Jewish Center, a synagogue in Brooklyn, New York, in 1946. Hide Caption 4 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg and her cousin Richard ski at a lodge in the Adirondacks circa 1946. Hide Caption 5 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg is the maid of honor at a cousin's wedding in 1951. Hide Caption 6 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg met her husband, Martin, while attending Cornell University, and both went on to study law. The couple were engaged in December 1953. Hide Caption 7 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg and her husband married in June 1954. She was 21 at the time. Hide Caption 8 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg The couple went on to have two children: Jane, born in 1955, and James, born in 1965. Hide Caption 9 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg A portrait of Ginsburg from 1977. At the time, she was a professor at the Columbia University School of Law. She was also a general counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union. Hide Caption 10 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg is joined by family members on the steps of the US Supreme Court after arguing a case there in November 1978. With Ginsburg, from left, are her brother-in-law Ed Stiepleman; her nephew David Stiepleman; and her son, James. Hide Caption 11 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg was the first woman to be hired with tenure at the Columbia University School of Law. She also taught at the Rutgers University School of Law. Hide Caption 12 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg, her husband and their two children -- James and Jane -- pose for a photo off the shore of St. Thomas in 1979. Hide Caption 13 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg In 1980, US President Jimmy Carter nominated Ginsburg to be a judge for the US Court of Appeals' District of Columbia Circuit. Hide Caption 14 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg in her chambers at the US Courthouse in Washington. Hide Caption 15 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg, her husband and their children vacation in Egypt in 1985. Hide Caption 16 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg and her husband take a bus to Paris circa 1988. Hide Caption 17 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg reads to a group of children at the 10th anniversary of the TV show "Reading Rainbow" in 1993. Hide Caption 18 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg President Bill Clinton nominated Ginsburg to the US Supreme Court in June 1993. Here, Ginsburg is holding a photograph of Hillary Clinton singing "the toothbrush song" with Ginsburg's granddaughter Clara and her nursery school class. Hide Caption 19 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg talks with a reporter after being nominated for the Supreme Court in 1993. On the far right is US Sen. Joe Biden. US Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan is wearing the bowtie. Hide Caption 20 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg is greeted by her husband during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Hide Caption 21 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg During her confirmation hearing, Ginsburg holds up a book titled "My Grandma is Very Special." It was written by Paul Spera, her grandson. Hide Caption 22 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg takes the Supreme Court oath from Chief Justice William Rehnquist, right, in August 1993. Joining them were Clinton and Martin Ginsburg. Hide Caption 23 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg poses with family members at the Supreme Court in October 1993. With Ginsburg, from left, are her son-in-law, George Spera; her daughter, Jane; her granddaughter Clara Spera; her husband, Martin; her son, James; and her grandson Paul Spera. Hide Caption 24 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg and her husband embrace while attending an event. The two were married for nearly 60 years. Martin Ginsburg died in 2010. Hide Caption 25 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg This informal group photo was taken of the US Supreme Court in December 1993. From left are Clarence Thomas, John Paul Stevens, Antonin Scalia, Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Sandra Day O'Connor, Anthony Kennedy, David Souter, Ginsburg and Harry Blackmun. Hide Caption 26 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Scalia and Ginsburg pose on an elephant during their tour of India in 1994. Scalia once said they were an "odd couple" and he counted her as his "best buddy" on the bench. Hide Caption 27 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg, second from left, and Scalia, second from right, appeared in the opening-night production of "Ariadne auf Naxos," an opera at the Kennedy Center in Washington in 1994. Hide Caption 28 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg and fellow Justice Sandra Day O'Connor hold basketballs given to them by the US women's basketball team in December 1995. Hide Caption 29 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg, front right, poses with other prominent Jewish-Americans while standing in a maze on New York's Ellis Island in 1996. It was part of a project by photographer Frederic Brenner. Also in the front row, from left, are artist Roy Lichtenstein, actress Lauren Bacall, violinist Itzhak Perlman and playwright Arthur Miller. Hide Caption 30 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg sits in her Supreme Court chambers in 2002. Hide Caption 31 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg makes her way through a crowd after an address at an ACLU conference in June 2003. Hide Caption 32 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg and her husband laugh as they listen to Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer speak at Columbia Law School in September 2003. Hide Caption 33 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Justice Ginsburg with President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice at the Department of State on January 28, 2005, the day Justice Ginsburg swore Rice in as Secretary of State. Hide Caption 34 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg From left, Supreme Court Justices Stephen Breyer, John Roberts, Ginsburg and Anthony Kennedy pose for a photo before meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris in July 2007. Hide Caption 35 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg wears a "Super Diva" sweatshirt as she works out at the Supreme Court in August 2007. Hide Caption 36 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg talks with filmmaker David Grubin about his PBS series "The Jewish Americans" in 2008. Hide Caption 37 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg arrives to a joint session of Congress where President Barack Obama was speaking in 2009. That month, Ginsburg had surgery and treatment for early stages of pancreatic cancer. A decade before, she had successful surgery for colon cancer. Hide Caption 38 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg The only women who have become Supreme Court justices pose together in 2010. From left are Sandra Day O'Connor, Sonia Sotomayor, Ginsburg and Elena Kagan. Hide Caption 39 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg While standing to receive an honorary degree from Harvard University, Ginsburg was surprised with a serenade from Spanish tenor Placido Domingo in 2011. Domingo also received an honorary degree. Hide Caption 40 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg visits with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the State Department in Washington in 2012. Hide Caption 41 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg, with an extra from "Carmen," attends the opera at the Kennedy Center in Washington in 2015. Hide Caption 42 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg acknowledges applause before a speaking event in Chicago in September 2017. Hide Caption 43 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg arrives to speak at New York University's law school in February 2018. Hide Caption 44 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg gives a keynote address at Columbia University in February 2018. Hide Caption 45 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg and other Supreme Court justices attend the Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony at the White House in November 2018. Hide Caption 46 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg The US Supreme Court, with newest member Brett Kavanaugh, poses for an official portrait in Washington in November 2018. In the back row, from left, are Neil Gorsuch, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Kavanaugh. In the front row, from left, are Stephen Breyer, Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, Ginsburg and Samuel Alito. Hide Caption 47 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg leaves a private ceremony at the Great Hall of the Supreme Court, where former Justice John Paul Stevens was lying in repose in July 2019. Hide Caption 48 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg makes her first public appearance since it was announced in August 2019 that she had undergone recent treatment for pancreatic cancer. While accepting an honorary degree from the University at Buffalo, she made remarks and briefly referenced her health. Hide Caption 49 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg In December 2019, Ginsburg was awarded the Berggruen Institute Prize for Philosophy and Culture. She planned to donate the $1 million prize to a number of organizations that promote opportunities for women. Hide Caption 50 of 51 Photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ginsburg participates in a discussion about the 19th Amendment at the Georgetown University Law Center in February 2020. The 19th Amendment guaranteed women the right to vote. Hide Caption 51 of 51

In past decades, including when then-Chief Justice William Rehnquist missed several oral argument sessions in the 2004-2005 term because of thyroid cancer, justices have cast their votes, authored opinions and remained a persuasive force throughout an illness.

For her part, Ginsburg kept up public appearances between the time she learned in November of the lung malignancy and her December operation. It was only then that her condition became public.