A bipartisan bill led by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) would honor late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor with statues in the Capitol.
Klobuchar’s office said in a statement that the legislation would place statues of the justices in the Capitol or on its grounds to “honor their service and dedication to our country.”
The bill would also require the Joint Committee of Congress on the Library to consider selecting an artist from “underrepresented demographic groups” to create the statutes.
“Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sandra Day O’Connor were trailblazers long before reaching the Supreme Court, opening doors for women at a time when so many insisted on keeping them shut,” Kloburchar said in a statement. “The Capitol is our most recognizable symbol of Democracy, a place where people from across our country have their voices represented and heard. It is only fitting that we honor their remarkable lives and service to our country by establishing statues in the Capitol.”
O’Connor — the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court — was appointed in 1981 by former President Reagan, and served until she retired in January 2006. Former President George W. Bush appointed Justice Samuel Alito to replace O’Connor the same year.
Former President Obama awarded O’Connor the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.
Ginsburg, who was appointed by former President Clinton in 1993, became both a legal and pop culture icon within the progressive movement. She was known, among other things, for her civil rights work as a lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union and later for her dissents on the high court.
She served on the court until she died in September at the age of 87.
Former President Trump appointed Justice Amy Coney Barrett to replace Ginsburg.
Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Ala.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) joined Klobuchar on the legislative effort.
Companion legislation in the House was introduced members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus and the Bipartisan Women’s Caucus.
—Updated at 6:33 p.m.