Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said those pushing for her to retire are “misguided,” arguing that President Obama could not appoint a similar replacement to the bench in an interview published Tuesday.
Ginsburg, at 81, is the oldest member of the Court. Some on the left have suggested that she might retire while Obama is in office, to guarantee that a Democratic president could appoint her successor.
{mosads}Ginsburg has said before that she is “likely to remain for a while,” but offered insight on her reasoning in an interview with Elle magazine.
“[A]nybody who thinks that if I step down, Obama could appoint someone like me, they’re misguided,” Ginsburg said when asked if she would retire while Obama is in office. “As long as I can do the job full steam … I think I’ll recognize when the time comes that I can’t any longer. But now I can.”
Ginsburg cited the politics of the Senate, noting that Republicans could filibuster a Supreme Court nominee.
“Who do you think President Obama could appoint at this very day, given the boundaries that we have?” Ginsburg said.
“If I resign any time this year, he could not successfully appoint anyone I would like to see in the court,” she added.
Senate Democrats last year changed the upper chamber’s rules to prevent filibusters on lower court appointees. The move did not change Supreme Court confirmations, meaning a successor would need Republican votes to get to the required 60 to break a filibuster.
Obama sparked some speculation in August when he said at a fundraiser that “we’re going to have Supreme Court appointments” while arguing for the importance of keeping a Democratic Senate.
This story was updated at 7:22 p.m.