Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died at the age of 87 last Friday, after a battle with metastatic pancreatic cancer. 
 
Following her death, President Donald Trump is now rushing to fill her vacancy before the election, according to CNN.
 
Ginsburg’s vacancy marks the start of a long and arduous process. President Trump announced his list of possible Supreme Court nominees earlier this month, should he have the opportunity to in his current term or possible second one, according to NPR.
 
Political officials have argued against Trump nominating a justice almost a month out from the presidential election.
 
“I’m very angry about this,” said FGCU sophomore Madison Clearman. “I feel like since [President Obama] decided not to go forward with his nomination, which was over 200 days away from the election, Trump should let us decide who is president and let us pick the next person in the Supreme Court. Let the people decide.”
 
Majority Leader and US Kentucky Senator, Mitch McConnell previously commented on the nomination process, following the passing of Justice Antonin Scalia during Obama’s presidency in 2016. With the election ten months away, McConnell chose to wait until after the election to hold a hearing, according to CNN.
 
Following the passing of Ginsburg on Friday, McConnell went against his previous decision and released an announcement that Trump’s nomination will receive a vote in the Republican-led Senate before the election, according to CNN.
 
Florida Gulf Coast University College Conservatives declined to comment on the situation as they are not taking interviews at this time. 
 
“I think that [Trump] has great intentions for our country, and [the nomination] definitely has planning and thought put into it,” said FGCU student Ryan Leidle. “There is a lot behind the scenes that the public does not know about.”
 
Trump’s list of nominees includes 40 conservative-leaning judges who, according to Trump in a CBS News report, “believe in the constitution.” 
 
The list includes none other than Senators Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton. However, the top contender is Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who has criticized Roe v. Wade, according to NPR.
 
“I don’t think the core case, Roe’s core holding that women have a right to an abortion, I don’t think that would change,” Barrett said in a discussion held at Jacksonville University. “But I think the question of whether people can get very late-term abortions, you know, how many restrictions can be put on clinics; I think that will change.”
 
If elected, Barret would give the Supreme Court a substantial 6-3 advantage leaning sharply to the right, according to NPR. This will likely impact future policy and could potentially create cases against abortion rights, affirmative action and Obamacare to court. 
 
Florida Gulf Coast Young Democratic Socialists did not respond to a request for comment on Ginsburg’s passing.
 
As the first Jewish woman on the court, Ginsburg sought to provide fair coverage to all, despite sex. She was a pioneer for equal rights, arguing six sex-discrimination cases before arriving at the Supreme Court, according to CBS News.
 
Ginsburg was nominated to the court in 1993 by President Clinton and continued to fight for equal protection, including advocating for the Equal Rights Amendment.
 
“It was a tragic death,” Leidle said. “She did a lot for the country and inspired many women. She will be missed.”
 
Ginsburg was a strong liberal voice for the Supreme Court, often disagreeing with her conservative colleagues on issues. 
 
In the case Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tires, an employment discrimination case seeking equal pay, Ginsburg dissented.
 
“Our precedent suggests, and lower courts have overwhelmingly held, that the unlawful practice is the current payment of salaries infected by gender-based (or race-based) discrimination — a practice that occurs whenever a paycheck delivers less to a woman than to a similarly situated man,” Ginsburg wrote, according to USA Today.
 
The Supreme Court decision ruled that Lilly Ledbetter, a salaried employee, did not have the right to sue her employer based on gender-based pay discrimination. Obama later overturned the decision, passing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, ensuring “fundamental fairness,” according to a White House press release.
 
Leaving a lasting legacy on American civility, Ginsburg will be the first Jewish American to lie in state in the US Capital, according to the New York Times.