Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg describes herself as a “flaming feminist,” but that certainly hasn’t stopped her from seeing the humanity in her fellow high court justices — especially those with whom she disagrees.
Speaking Wednesday during a question-and-answer session at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, Ginsburg described Justice Brett Kavanaugh as a “very decent” person and bemoaned the “dysfunction” that has beset the confirmation process for judicial nominees.
Duke Law professor Neil Siegel told Ginsburg, “Nominees for the Supreme Court are not chosen primarily anymore for independence, legal ability, [and] personal decency, and I wonder if that’s a loss for all of us.”
Ginsburg replied by defending her two new conservative colleagues, Kavanaugh and Justice Neil Gorsuch, according to Business Insider.
“My two newest colleagues,” she said, “are very decent, very smart individuals.”
She argued the confirmation process for Supreme Court justices has become far too divisive, noting she — despite her far-left leanings — was swiftly confirmed to the high court in 1993 by a 96-3 vote. In September, she described Kavanaugh’s hearings as a “highly partisan show.”
Ginsburg isn’t alone in feeling that way. During a recent interview with Ben Shapiro, Fox News anchor Shannon Bream — who has covered the confirmation processes for five Supreme Court justices — said she’s “never seen” a process as divisive as Kavanaugh’s.
The 86-year-old justice gave us all a lesson in decency this week when she said she hopes “patriots on both sides of the aisle” will reject the “dysfunction” and return to how it used to be.