Democratic presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden and his vice presidential pick Sen. Kamala D. Harris paid their respects to the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday.
The two joined dozens of other lawmakers and other dignitaries at her memorial ceremony, where she is the first woman and Jewish person to lie in state in the United States Capitol.
The ceremony was limited due to health concerns regarding the coronavirus pandemic.
Ms. Harris, California Democrat, chatted and took photos with their fellow lawmakers, including Reps. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Joyce Beatty, before the ceremony began.
Mr. Biden spoke with Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee of Texas. He and Jill Biden were seated on the same side as Justice Ginsburg’s family.
The former vice president made the Sign of the Cross as he stood at Justice Ginsburg’s casket.
Mr. Biden recounted when he met Justice Ginsburg, when she was nominated and confirmed in 1993 to fill the seat vacated by retiring Justice Byron White.
“I first met her when I did her hearings. I was the chairman of the committee when she was confirmed,” he said as he was leaving the Capitol. “Wonderful memories.”
President Trump paid his respects to Justice Ginsburg on Thursday as she lied in repose at the Supreme Court.
Referred to as “the notorious RBG,” the liberal justice was remembered this week by lawmakers across the political spectrum for her fierce record as a lawyer and jurist. She was the second woman appointed to the Supreme Court.
Justice Ginsburg joined the ACLU in 1972, where she started the women’s rights project and argued before the Supreme Court in 1973 on behalf of Air Force Lt. Sharron Frontiero, who was demanding a housing allowance and other benefits that at the time were given only to men in the military.
As a justice on the high court, she authored the 1996 United States v Virginia opinion, which struck down Virginia Military Institute’s all-male admission policy.
The 7-1 decision even won the backing of then-Chief Justice William Rehnquist. It was the late Justice Antonin Scalia, one of Justice Ginsburg’s close friends and fellow opera lover, who dissented from her opinion.
Justice Ginsburg died at the age of 87 last Friday after battling metastatic pancreatic cancer.
The liberal justice’s death leaves a gaping hole on the nine-member panel and immediately sparked a bitter partisan battle over who will get to nominate her successor.
Mr. Trump and Republicans are moving swiftly to fill the void — the nominee is expected to be named Saturday — less than 40 days before the election.
Democrats accused Republicans of hypocrisy, given that they blocked President Barack Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland in 2016. Some on the left have called for expanding the court if Republicans succeed in naming a conservative judge in the liberal justice’s place.
The GOP lawmakers defended their decision, arguing that their party controls both the White House and Senate, which fits past precedent, unlike the situation four years ago.
Justice Ginsburg’s granddaughter said she dictated to her the following before she died: “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”
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