Ruth Bader Ginsburg death - latest: Democrats smash donation records following death of liberal Supreme Court judge

Follow all the latest as America mourns the passing of the liberal judge

Joe Biden reacts to the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

US supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a diminutive yet towering women's rights champion who became known as the Notorious RBG, has died aged 87.

The court's second female justice died from complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer, though she made few concessions to age and recurrent health problems in her latter years.

In her final years on the court, Ms Ginsburg was the unquestioned leader of the liberal justices, as outspoken in dissent as she was cautious in earlier years.

Following news of her death, political leaders in the US and across the world paid tribute to the iconic judge.

Key Points

• Democrats smash donation records following death of Ginsburg
• Trump says he will announce Supreme Court nominee ‘without delay’
• Trudeau hails “profound and fearless” Ginsburg
• Obama demands Supreme Court seat filled only after election

[19 September 2020 17:11 · Tom Embury-Dennis]

We’re wrapping up our dedicated coverage of the fallout following Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death. But we’re got much more on Ginsburg and the political ramifications of her passing on our dedicated US politics live blog, which you can find here.

[19 September 2020 16:58 · Tom Embury-Dennis]

Obama says democracy at risk if Republicans try to fill Ginsburg Supreme Court vacancy before election

Former president Barack Obama has called on the Senate not to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

In a statement, he urged Republican senators to abide by the principle that “they invented” in 2016 when they refused to hold a hearing for the nomination of Merrick Garland before a new president was sworn in, and warned that democracy was at risk should they push ahead.

“A basic principle of the law — and of everyday fairness — is that we apply rules with consistency, and not based on what’s convenient or advantageous in the moment. The rule of law, the legitimacy of our courts, the fundamental workings of our democracy all depend on that basic principle,” the former president wrote.  

[19 September 2020 16:36 · Tom Embury-Dennis]

Democrats smash donation records following death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Democratic donors smashed records on Friday night following the news of the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Online donation processing site ActBlue reports that in the 9pm hour after the news broke, donors gave $6.2m — more than in any single hour since the launch of the site in 2004.

That record was toppled in the 10pm hour when donors gave another $6.3m. For two hours, more than $100,000 per minute was being donated to Democratic causes.

[19 September 2020 16:29 · Tom Embury-Dennis]

New York governor Andrew Cuomo has announced Ruth Bader Ginsberg will be honoured with a statue of her erected in Brooklyn, her place of birth. 

[19 September 2020 16:10 · Tom Embury-Dennis]

Majority of Americans trust Biden over Trump to choose the next Supreme Court justice

Just before news broke that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had died, new polls were released that showed a majority of Americans in battleground states trusted Joe Biden over Donald Trump to choose the next nominee to the nation's highest court.

National polls have consistently shown Americans trusting the former vice president over the Republican incumbent to choose the next Supreme Court justice, an issue that stands to greatly reshape the entire 2020 presidential election in its final six weeks following the death of the 87-year-old judge.

The New York Times / Siena polls released on Friday surveyed key states including Arizona, Maine and North Carolina about which candidate voters trusted more to nominate the next Supreme Court justice.

[19 September 2020 15:56 · Tom Embury-Dennis]

Video of Lindsey Graham insisting Supreme Court vacancies should never be filled in election years goes viral

Lindsey Graham, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is under pressure to reject any Supreme Court nominee put forward by Donald Trump to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg – as he himself has repeatedly promised to do.

The South Carolina senator, who is currently fighting his most competitive Democratic challenger since he was elected to the chamber in 2002, has previously voted for nominees put forward by presidents of both parties.

However, in 2016, he joined the Republican boycott of Merrick Garland, the man Barack Obama nominated to replace Antonin Scalia. The Republican senate leadership justified their refusal to take up the nomination on the basis that in an election year, it should be for the next president to decide who to pick.

[19 September 2020 15:33 · Tom Embury-Dennis]

Trump says he has 'obligation' to nominate Supreme Court judge 'without delay'

Donald Trump has suggested he will announce a nomination for the Supreme Court in the wake of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death “without delay” despite the judge’s dying wish that her replacement would not be selected “until a new president is installed”.

Tagging the official account of the Republican Party in a Saturday morning post, the president wrote on Twitter: “We were put in this position of power and importance to make decisions for the people who so proudly elected us, the most important of which has long been considered to be the selection of United States Supreme Court Justices.“

He added: “We have this obligation, without delay!”

[19 September 2020 15:20 · Tom Embury-Dennis]

Donald Trump has tweeted for the first time on Saturday. He says nominating judge’s to the Supreme Court is the “most important” decision he can make as president, and intends to push through with it before the election. 

[19 September 2020 15:03 · Tom Embury-Dennis]

CNN has provided a useful video exploring Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s life and legacy.

[19 September 2020 14:43 · Tom Embury-Dennis]

Emmanuel Macron is the latest world leader to praise Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The French president calls Ginsburg “a truly exceptional woman” who will provide “inspiration for a long time to come”.