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Ruth Bader Ginsburg Attends SCOTUS Meeting Today; First Appearance In Weeks

February 15, 2019

The Hill is reporting that 85-year-old US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG) attended a “justices’ private conference” at the court today (2/15/19) after a lengthy absence following surgery in late December. Justice Ginsberg suffered a fall last November in which she suffered broken ribs; during a medical examination, “cancerous nodules” were noticed on her lung and were surgically removed in the December procedure.

Speculation about Ginsburg’s health status the past few weeks has run the gamut, with some even wildly speculating that RBG was being kept on life support by liberals who fear President Donald Trump, should the generally liberal RBG die, would fill her vacancy with a conservative justice. Twitter users even created a hashtag, #wheresruth, to trade in such rumors.

The Hill reports that RBG attended a “closed-door meeting in which justices consider requests to review cases.” The Hill also reports RBG missed oral arguments last month which marks “the first time in more than 25 years […] she was forced to miss arguments due to her health.”

Thus far in Trump’s presidency he has successfully appointed two men, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, to the court.

The Hill writes:

“Among the petitions the justices considered Friday is a request from the Trump administration to bypass a regional appeals court and review a lower court’s decision to block administration officials from adding questions about citizenship to the 2020 census.”

RBG is the oldest and longest-serving female justice on the SCOTUS. Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor are the other two females who serve with her.