Barr says Ginsburg ‘leaves a towering legacy’

Attorney General William Barr on Friday offered sympathies in the wake Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, describing her as an inspiration to women who leaves a “towering legacy.”

“On behalf of the Department of Justice, I extend my deepest sympathy on the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  Justice Ginsburg led one of the great lives in the history of American law,” Barr said in a statement Friday evening. “She was a brilliant and successful litigator, an admired court of appeals judge, and a profoundly influential Supreme Court Justice.”

“For all her achievements in those roles, she will perhaps be remembered most for inspiring women in the legal profession and beyond,” Barr continued. “She and I did not agree on every issue, but her legal ability, personal integrity, and determination were beyond doubt.  She leaves a towering legacy, and all who seek justice mourn her loss.”

The Supreme Court said Friday evening that Ginsburg died surrounded by members of her family at her home in Washington, D.C., due to complications of pancreatic cancer at the age of 87.

Ginsburg was nominated for the high court by then-President Bill Clinton in 1993, and she became a trailblazer for women’s rights and a leader of the court’s liberal justices.

Ginsburg’s death comes less than two months before the November presidential election, and immediately triggered questions about President Trump’s plans to put forth a nominee. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in a statement that Republicans would move to fill the vacancy.