Time frame would outlast a first Trump term, but even she isn’t placing bets on outlasting a second Trump term.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is not going anywhere, if she has her way.

She’s determined to outlast a Trump first term, but even she isn’t betting on outlasting a second Trump term.

CNN reports:

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said she hopes to stay on the Supreme Court until the age of 90. “I’m now 85,” Ginsburg said on Sunday. “My senior colleague, Justice John Paul Stevens, he stepped down when he was 90, so think I have about at least five more years.” She has already hired law clerks for at least two more terms. Ginsburg spoke in New York following a production of “The Originalist,” a play about the late Justice Antonin Scalia, at the 59E59 Theater…. As for retiring or term limits, Ginsburg said no chance. “You can’t set term limits, because to do that you’d have to amend the Constitution,” Ginsburg said. “Article 3 says … we hold our offices during good behavior.” “And most judges are very well behaved,” she added, to laughter.

All of this planning is fine, but at the ages of many of the Justices, a 5-year plan may be optimistic.

USA Today has this handy graphic:

As you can see, after Kennedy leaves the next to oldest Justices, by far, are liberals Ginsburg (85) and Breyer (79). So simply based on age, the next two departures are likely to be liberal Justices.

Considering the deranged and dangerous reaction to the retirement of Justice Kennedy with Trump in office, can you imagine what would happen if Ginsburg or Breyer had to leave the bench with Trump getting to nominate a replacement?

Trump replacing Ginsburg would be a particularly bitter loss for liberals.

Ginsburg is their Scalia.

I’m a little surprise by Ginsburg’s 5-year plan. My expectation was that she would retire in the summer of 2020, a presidential election year. That would motivate liberals, and would present conservatives with a test of the Merrick Garland doctrine — that a president doesn’t get a vote on a Supreme Court nomination close to a presidential election.

Retiring in the summer of 2020 would be Notorious RBG’s way of going out in style.



