RBG Won't Return to the Supreme Court Next Week

Katie Pavlich | January 11, 2019 12:55 PM

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, "RBG", will not return to the Supreme Court next week after missing oral arguments over the past three days. Ginsburg is recovering at home after surgery to remove cancer.

“Justice Ginsburg will continue to work from home next week and will participate in the consideration and decision of the cases on the basis of the briefs and the transcripts of oral arguments. Her recovery from surgery is on track. Post-surgery evaluation indicates no evidence of remaining disease, and no further treatment is required,” the Court released Friday afternoon.

Update on Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg from #SCOTUS: No evidence of any remaining disease, no further treatment required, treatment remains on track, but she will continue to work from home next week, participating in cases based on briefs & oral argument transcripts.
— Amy Howe (@AHoweBlogger) January 11, 2019

Doctors have said Ginsburg's cancer has been completely removed and that she is on track for recovery.

Meanwhile, the White House is reportedly preparing for RBG's departure. From POLITICO:

The White House is reaching out to political allies and conservative activist groups to prepare for an ailing Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s possible death or departure from the Supreme Court — an event that would trigger the second bitter confirmation battle of President Donald Trump’s tenure.

The outreach began after Ginsburg, 85, on Monday missed oral arguments at the court for the first time in her 25 years on the bench. The justice, who was nominated to the court by President Bill Clinton in 1993, announced in late December that she underwent a surgical procedure to remove two cancerous growths from her lungs.

The White House "is taking the temperature on possible short-list candidates, reaching out to key stakeholders, and just making sure that people are informed on the process," said a source familiar with those conversations, who spoke on background given the delicate nature of the subject. "They're doing it very quietly, of course, because the idea is not to be opportunistic, but just to be prepared so we aren't caught flat-footed."