[Correspondent Diary] Death of US Progressive Supreme Court Justice, 'Eye of the Storm' in Presidential Election Politics

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[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the 'icon of the progressive camp' in the United States and a U.S. Supreme Court Justice, passed away at the age of 87 on the 18th (local time), sending tension through the U.S. political scene ahead of the presidential election.

With the expansion of mail-in voting amid the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a possibility that the Supreme Court could end up deciding the election results, making a power struggle between political factions to either keep or seize the Supreme Court seat inevitable.

As the U.S. presidential election approaches this November and Ginsburg continued her battle with cancer, the White House and U.S. political circles remained on edge. The Supreme Court is currently composed of five conservatives and four progressives, and with Ginsburg's death, if President Donald Trump appoints the next justice, the ideological leaning of the U.S. Supreme Court will decisively tilt toward conservatism for a considerable period. President Trump has already appointed two lifetime Supreme Court justices.

Out of concern for this, Ginsburg had maintained her position of delaying retirement even while battling illness to keep her seat on the Supreme Court. This was because if she retired, it was certain that President Trump would appoint a conservative justice.

Even facing death, Ginsburg was worried about this situation. According to her granddaughter, until shortly before her passing, she said, "My wish is that I am not replaced (on the Supreme Court) before the presidential election is over."

However, since Ginsburg died with only six weeks left until the U.S. presidential election, President Trump now has the opportunity to nominate a successor to her seat.

Upon hearing the news of Justice Ginsburg's death during a campaign speech in Minnesota, President Trump expressed condolences, saying, "He led an amazing life." Although he did not comment on the appointment of a successor justice, he had already announced a list of about 20 potential Supreme Court nominees last week. This was effectively preparation for the possibility of Ginsburg's passing. Since the Senate majority party with confirmation authority is the Republican Party, President Trump can push through the appointment if he wishes.

According to the Washington Journal, President Trump has stated that the next president should appoint the Supreme Court justice. The Journal interpreted this as a stance asking to be made president to complete the conservative shift of the judiciary. President Trump has already appointed two Supreme Court justices.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden mourned, calling it "very sad news," but stated that the new justice should be appointed by the new president elected after the U.S. presidential election.

The death of a Supreme Court justice also shook the 2016 U.S. presidential election. At that time, conservative icon Antonin Scalia, who was the ideological opposite of Ginsburg, passed away. Then-President Barack Obama appointed a progressive justice as a successor after the death of the conservative justice, but the Republican majority in the Senate refused to hold confirmation hearings, and only after President Trump took office was conservative Neil Gorsuch appointed as a Supreme Court justice.

The Democratic Party's position is that the next president should appoint the justice, but this only applies if Biden wins. If President Trump is re-elected, the ideological structure of the Supreme Court is likely to solidify a conservative advantage of 6 to 3.

This would be a dreadful outcome that the Democratic Party would hate to even consider. There is a way to prevent this situation: securing the majority in the Senate election held alongside the presidential election.

If the Democratic Party loses both the presidential election and fails to control the Senate, and cannot prevent the conservative shift of the Supreme Court, it could become a tragedy unimaginable in U.S. politics.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.