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The Washington Post: Ruth Bader Ginsburg calls Congress the ‘culprit’ in polarizing the confirmation process

Posted at 5:03 AM, Oct 25, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-25 07:03:48-04

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg labeled Congress the “culprit” for the polarization of the judicial confirmation process, according to The Washington Post.

During a discussion Wednesday night at the federal courthouse in Washington, Ginsburg alluded to the newest Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s contentious confirmation process this fall, the newspaper reported.

According to the Post, Ginsburg then noted that the late Justice Antonin Scalia was confirmed to the bench unanimously.

“What a difference in time that was from what we are witnessing today,” Ginsburg said, the Post reported.

“To me, the obvious culprit is Congress,” Ginsburg said, commenting on how fractured the confirmation process is, the Post reported.

The Senate confirmed Kavanaugh earlier this month on a 50-48 vote — one of the closest votes in history.

The 85-year-old justice, who recently marked 25 years on the bench, also lamented what she said was a lack of effort to “reach across the aisle,” the newspaper noted.

Ginsburg praised retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor for putting “country above party and self-interest” and working “collaboratively to solve problems,” the Post reported.

Ginsburg’s comments about her former colleague came a day after O’Connor announced that she has been diagnosed with “beginning stages of dementia, probably Alzheimer’s disease” and is stepping away from public life.