HOUSTON, Texas – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, tonight appeared on Fox News’ ‘Hannity’ following the news that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has passed away. Watch Sen. Cruz’s full interview with Sean Hannity here. Excerpts are below.
When asked about the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sen. Cruz said:
“We and the entire nation mourn the passing of an historic Justice. She was only the second woman ever to serve on the Court. She served 27 years; before she was on the Court she was a Court of Appeals judge and before that she was a legendary advocate – she was one of the most accomplished Supreme Court advocates to have ever lived. I argued before her nine times. She was brilliant and she was a very careful lawyer, and she was a trailblazer. And she leaves a large legacy. Heidi and I are lifting up her family in prayer as they mourn her loss, but she led an extraordinary life.”
When asked about what happens with the Supreme Court vacancy just weeks away from Election Day, Sen. Cruz said:
“Well, I think with the Court we’re one vote away from losing our fundamental constitutional liberties. And I believe that the president should next week nominate a successor to the Court. And I think it is critical that the Senate takes up and confirms that successor before Election Day. There’s going to be enormous pressure from the media, there’s going to be enormous pressure from Democrats to delay filling this vacancy, but this election – this nomination is why Donald Trump was elected, this confirmation is why the voters voted for a Republican majority in the Senate. And I’ll tell you one reason in particular, Sean, why I think it is tremendously important that not only does the nomination happen next week but the confirmation happen[s] before Election Day.
“Because Democrats and Joe Biden had made clear they intend to challenge this election, they intend to fight the legitimacy of the election. As you know, Hillary Clinton has told Joe Biden, under no circumstances should you concede, you should challenge this election. And we cannot have Election Day come and go with a four-four Court – a four-four Court that is equally divided cannot decide anything. And I think we risk a constitutional crisis if we do not have a nine-justice Supreme Court, particularly when there is such a risk of a contested litigation and a contested election.
“Twenty years ago, I was part of the legal team that litigated Bush v. Gore and went to the Supreme Court. Thirty-seven days the country did not know who the president was going to be, and if we had a four-four court it could have dragged on for weeks and months. And so, I think we have a responsibility, a responsibility to do our job. The president should nominate a principal constitutionalist with a proven record. And the Senate, it’s going to take a lot of work to get it done before Election Day but I think we should do our job and protect the country from the constitutional crisis that could result otherwise.”
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