Ginsburg Makes History, First Woman to Lie in State at U.S. Capitol

Even in death, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg makes history as she is set to become the first woman to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol this Friday, September 25, exactly a week after she died.

She would only be the second Supreme Court Justice, who will be honored in that way after former Chief Justice William Howard Taft, who was also the U.S. president from 1909 to 1913.

The 87-year-old Ginsburg passed away last Friday, September 18, due to pancreatic cancer.

Ginsburg's memorial services will be ushered in by a private ceremony at the Supreme Court's Great Hall on Wednesday morning. In attendance will be her colleagues, family, and close friends.

Afterward, she will lie in repose at the top of the Supreme Court's front steps until Thursday. The court is inviting the public to pay their respects from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on both days.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, said that Ginsburg would lie in state at the U.S. Capitol Building on Friday. A formal ceremony will also be held on Friday morning, but it will be limited to invited people only due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After the memorial services this week, an interment ceremony will be held next week at the Arlington National Cemetery, where Ginsburg's husband, Martin, was buried in 2010.

Ginsburg's memorial services schedule was announced hours after President Donald Trump said that he has already reduced to five names his list of potential replacements for Ginsburg.

He also said that he would be announcing his pick this weekend as he wanted to wait until Ginsburg's memorial services are done out of respect.

Justice Ginsburg was considered a cultural icon and hero to liberals, and it is no surprise that her death has triggered national mourning.

However, her death has also sparked a fierce battle between the Republicans and Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell over Ginsburg's successor.

The Democrats want Ginsburg's seat to remain vacant until after the November 3 election. They argued that this lifetime appointment to the high court should be made by whoever wins in the general election.

The Democrats are using the same argument that the Republicans took in March 2016 when McConnell blocked Barack Obama's nomination of Judge Merrick Garland following the death of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia. The latter had died one month earlier then.

However, Trump and McConnell said that they intend to move forward with the nomination without delay, as there is still plenty of time.

By doing so, Trump is disregarding Ginsburg's dying wish, which she dictated to her granddaughter that she wished not to be replaced until after a new president is elected.

However, Trump is casting doubt that it was really Justice Ginsburg's dying wish as it appeared out of thin air. The president claimed that it must have been the Democrats who wrote it.

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