Senator Joni Ernst.
Republican Senator Joni Ernst was speaking in Atlantic Friday evening when a reporter informed her Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had died. Ernst repeated the statement to the crowd and said she was “sorry to hear” the news.
“I may not agree with her politically, but God rest her,” Ernst said. “I think she was an incredible woman. She was an incredible woman in her own right.”
The reporter asked Ernst what she thought President Trump will do to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court.
“I can’t speak for the president…He does have a list of those that would likely to be appointed, so we’ll find out more, but truly I am very, very sorry to hear that,” Ernst said. “She was such a dynamic leader.”
Earlier this summer Ernst said if there were to be a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court in 2020, the president should nominate someone and the U.S. Senate should vote on the nomination.
Theresa Greenfield, the Democrat who is running against Ernst this year, says the appointment should wait until the next U.S. Senate and president we’re about to vote for taking office. Greenfield, in a written statement released this weekend, said Iowans are independent thinkers, and a delay until 2021 would respect the voices of voters.
(By Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic)