Former Vice President Joe Biden is set to speak in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Sunday and address the vacancy created on the U.S. Supreme Court following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an event that sent shockwaves through the political world and recast an already uncertain presidential race.
After Ginsburg's death on Friday, the Democratic presidential nominee, who was on a plane traveling back to Delaware after a day of campaigning in Minnesota when the news broke, made clear his position that a replacement for the longtime justice should not be confirmed before November's election.
MORE: Pelosi says Democrats will 'use every arrow in our quiver' to block Trump's Supreme Court nominee"There is no doubt, let me be clear, that the voters should pick the president, and the president should pick the Justice for the Senate to consider," Biden told reporters at an airport in New Castle, Delaware, on Friday evening.Patrick Semansky/AP, FILEDemocratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a Hispanic Heritage Month event, Sept. 15, 2020, at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Fla.Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a Hispanic Heritage Month event, Sept. 15, 2020, at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Fla."This was the position of -- the Republican senate took in 2016 when there were almost 10 months to go before the election. That's the position the United States Senate must take today," Biden added, referring to the Republican-led Senate's blocking of President Barack Obama's pick for the nation's highest court in 2016 following the death of conservative juror Antonin Scalia.Ginsburg's death, which came just 46 days before Biden and President Donald Trump will face voters, has immediately made the vacant seat a priority for both candidates, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has vowed to allow Trump's nominee to replace Ginsburg to receive a vote on the floor of the Senate.
"We will uphold equal justice under the law for citizens of every race, color, religion and creed. I will be putting forth a nominee next week. It will be a woman," Trump said at a rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Saturday evening.MORE: Supreme Court vacancy highlights stakes of presidential race for progressivesBiden's campaign has signaled that they will make a major push to put defending the Affordable Care Act (ACA) at the forefront of voters' minds.According to a Biden campaign spokesperson, the former vice president's team believes that Ginsburg's death will "energize" voters that are "frustrated" by President Trump and Republicans attempts to invalidate the law.MORE: As Senate Republicans push for vote on Supreme Court nominee, Collins objects"Make no mistake: the fight to preserve protections for preexisting conditions is on the ballot. And that case will be heard before the Supreme Court a week after the election and a decision is expected in June of 2021," the Biden campaign said. "Voters understand: the next Justice who goes on the Court will decide whether or not they will still have protections for pre-existing conditions."The campaign believes this is a "fight that's good for Democrats," and will motivate them to turn out for Biden and Harris, especially given the fact that the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a major case involving the ACA the week following the 2020 election.Source : abcnews.go.com