Maxine Waters: ‘Senate Democrats, Do Not Back Down’

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) urged Senate Democrats to stand strong and “not back down” in the wake of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) subsequent vow that President Trump’s nominee to replace her “will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.”

Waters expressed her condolences to Ginsburg’s family Friday evening following the news of the justice’s passing, praising her as a “titan & legend on the Supreme Court” before ultimately delivering a message directly to Senate Democrats: “Do not back down!”

“Justice Ginsburg’s dying wish was that her seat would not be filled until a new president is installed! Senate Democrats, do not back down. You have a tough fight ahead but our future is on the line!” the California lawmaker exclaimed. “No SCOTUS appointment before the election!!!”:

I want to express my sincere condolences to the family of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a titan & legend on the Supreme Court whose undeniably brilliant legal mind & dedication to justice & equality moved our country forward. We’ve lost a champion tonight, but her legacy lives on.

— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) September 19, 2020

Justice Ginsburg’s dying wish was that her seat would not be filled until a new president is installed! Senate Democrats, do not back down. You have a tough fight ahead but our future is on the line! No SCOTUS appointment before the election!!!

— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) September 19, 2020

Prior to her passing, Ginsburg reportedly told her granddaughter, Clara Spera, that her “most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”

However, Majority Leader McConnell said in a statement on Friday evening that Trump’s nominee will, in fact, receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.

“In the last midterm election before Justice Scalia’s death in 2016, Americans elected a Republican Senate majority because we pledged to check and balance the last days of a lame-duck president’s second term,” McConnell explained. “We kept our promise.”

“Since the 1880s, no Senate has confirmed an opposite-party president’s Supreme Court nominee in a presidential election year, despite his refusal to consider former President Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to replace conservative justice Antonin Scalia,” he continued.

“By contrast, Americans reelected our majority in 2016 and expanded it in 2018 because we pledged to work with President Trump and support his agenda, particularly his outstanding appointments to the federal judiciary. Once again, we will keep our promise,” McConnell added, stating that Trump’s nominee will have a vote on the floor.

Several blue checks on Twitter have since threatened full-blown violence in America if the Republican-led Senate moves to replace Ginsburg prior to the election.

During his rally in Minnesota Friday night, President Trump identified himself as the American people’s “wall between the American dream and chaos.”

“Only by voting for me are you going to save — I hate to say this — I did it with your iron ore. I did it with some other things, and I’ll do it for you again. I’ll do it for you again, but if you vote for me. I’m the difference and I’m the wall,” Trump said.

“You know the wall that we’re building on the southern border? I’m your wall between the American dream and chaos,” he added:

Matt Perdie / Breitbart News