Washington, DC — The death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has thrust Iowa’s U.S. Senators — both Republicans — into the spotlight. The Senate’s Republican leader says there will be a vote this year on the person President Trump nominates to replace Ginsburg.
Earlier this summer, Senator Chuck Grassley said if there were a vacancy on the court, he would not recommend holding a committee hearing on a nominee. That would follow what happened in 2016. Grassley was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the time and did not hold a hearing for President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee.
Senator Joni Ernst, who recently became a member of the Judiciary Committee, said in July the Republican-led senate should proceed with hearings if a vacancy occurred in 2020, even if President Trump loses the election. Friday night, shortly after Ginsburg’s death was announced, Ernst’s 2020 re-election campaign sent an email titled “BREAKING: The future of the Supreme Court is on the line,” and seeking donations to preserve what the email referred to as “Conservative values and Constitutional rights.” Ernst a few hours later issued a written statement saying the email “never should have gone out” Friday night.
Ernst and many Iowa politicians, of both parties, issued written statements Friday evening referring to Ginsburg as an icon. Grassley, who voted back in 1993 to confirm Ginsburg to the court, called her a trailblazer who “has left a remarkable imprint on our nation.” Republican Governor Kim Reynolds said Ginsburg’s life of service “deserves the utmost respect and admiration.” Congresswoman Cindy Axne, a Democrat from West Des Moines, said Ginsburg was “a champion of progress and women’s rights unlike any other in our nation’s history.” Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, said the country “lost a hero, an icon and inspiration for millions of women and girls.” Congressman Dave Loebsack, a Democrat from Iowa City, said Ginsburg’s “voice will be truly missed.”
