Ginsburg hopes to stay at least 5 more years on the Supreme Court
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Fans of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg were buoyed by a comment she made Sunday after a performance in New York of The Originalist, a play about the views of the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
Ginsburg said she hopes to stay on the Supreme Court at least five more years, CNN reports.
“I’m now 85,” Ginsburg said. “My senior colleague, Justice John Paul Stevens, he stepped down when he was 90, so think I have about at least five more years.”
CNN notes that Ginsburg had hired law clerks for at least two more terms.
The comment had Ginsburg trending on Twitter, raising alarm among those who feared the worst, the Washington Post reports. “Saw Ruth Bader Ginsburg trending & I was on my way to the hospital to donate all my organs to keep her alive,” said one Twitter fan.
The Post notes that Ginsburg “does in some ways appear to be an invincible superhero.” She keeps to a difficult exercise routine and has survived colon and pancreatic cancer.
But Ginsburg is staying on the court longer than many justices. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy turned 82 this month and is retiring Tuesday. She is also five years older than the average retirement age of the last 11 justices, according to the Post.
Ginsburg talked about her plans while being questioned by the director of The Originalist, Molly Smith. Asked about what keeps her hopeful, Ginsburg responded with a reference to her late husband, Martin.
My dear spouse would say that the true symbol of the United States is not the bald eagle—it is the pendulum,” Ginsburg said. “And when it goes very far in one direction you can count on its swinging back.”
