>>> I ALWAYS SAID I’LL STAY ON THIS JOB AS LONG AS I CAN DO IT
FULL STEAM AND IF THAT MEANS AT
MY AGE 86 YOU HAVE TO TAKE IT
YEAR BY YEAR.
SO I KNOW I’M OKAY.
I WAS OKAY THIS LAST TERM.
I EXPECT TO BE OKAY NEXT TERM.
AND AFTER THAT, WE’LL JUST HAVE
TO SEE.
TO SEE. >> THAT WAS JUSTICE RUTH BAIT ER
GINSBURG FOR A LOCALIZED
MALIGNANT TUMOR FOUND ON HER
PANCREAS.
PANCREAS. HE COMPLETED TREATMENT AND
TOLERATED IT WELL.
THE STATEMENT SAYS ASIDE FROM
CANCELLING A TRIP TO SANTA FE,
SHE MAINTAINED AN ACTIVE
SCHEDULE AND ADDS THE TUMOR WAS
TREATED DEFINITIVELY AND NO
EVIDENCE OF DISEASE ELSEWHERE IN
THE BODY.
THE BODY. SHE’LL CONTINUE TO HAVE PERIODIC
BLOOD TESTS AND SCANS.
NO FURTHER TREATMENT IS NEEDED
AT THIS TIME.
THIS IS NOT HER FIRST CANCER
SCARE NOR IS IT THE SECOND.
POLITICO POINTS OUT GINSBURG
SURVIVED MULTIPLE
SURVIVED MULTIPLE DIAGNOSES.
DIAGNOSES. SHE WAS TREATED IN 1999 AND MOST
RECENTLY IN DECEMBER 2018 TO
REMOVE CANCEROUS NODS FROM HER
LEFT LUNG IDENTIFIED AFTER SHE
FELL AND FRACTURED THREE RIBS
LAST NOVEMBER.
LAST NOVEMBER. WITH US FOR MORE, JOSH, SENIOR
LEGAL AFFAIRS CONTRIBUTOR FOR
POLITICO AND BARBARA PERRY AT
THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA AND
I’MMPORTANT TO THIS CONVERSATION
A FELLOW FOR THE UNITED STATES
SUPREME COURT.
SUPREME COURT. THANKS TO BOTH OF YOU.
JOSH, LET ME START WITH YOU.
OBVIOUSLY THE SUBJECT OF RUTH
BADER GINSBURG HEALTH IS FRONT
AND CENTER FOR SUPREME COURT
WATCHERS FOR LITERALLY YEARS
NOW.
NOW. THIS LATEST NEWS THAT WE ARE
LEARNING ABOUT PUBLIC LYLY AFTER
THE FACT OF THE TREATMENT.
WERE THERE RUMBLINGS OF THIS
BEHIND THE SCENES OR WERE YOU
SURPRISED LIKE THE REST OF US
TODAY?
TODAY? >> I DIDN’T HEAR OF RUMBLINGS,
THERE WERE PHOTOGRAPHS YESTERDAY
OR EARLIER TODAY SHOWING HER
GOING TO THE HOSPITAL AND
EVERYONE KNOWS BECAUSE OF HER
CANCER HISTORY, SHE HAS TO GET
MORE REGULAR CHECKUPS THAN A LOT
OF PEOPLE.
OF PEOPLE. WASN’T SOMETHING WE WERE AWARE
OF.
OF. THOSE OF US WHO COVER THE SUP
SUPREME COURT ARE WARY ABOUT THE
ANNOUNCEMENTS.
ANNOUNCEMENTS. TO HEAR IT COME OUT AND SAY
SHE’S BEEN GETTING TREATMENT FOR
A RECURRENCE OF CANCER FOR THREE
WEEKS AND LEARNING ABOUT IT IN
THE TAIL END AND AFTER THERE ARE
PHOTOGRAPHS OF HER GOING INTO
THE HOSPITAL, IT HAS BECOME A
BIT OF A PATTERN WITH JUSTICE
GINSBURG THAT WHEN THESE HEALTH
SQUARES
SQUARES SCARES TAKE PLACE, WE DON’T GET
PROMPT REPORTS ON THEM OR CLEAR
INFORMATION.
INFORMATION. I REMEMBER ONE TIME WHEN SHE
COLLAPSED AT THE COURT OR FELT
LIGHT HEADED AND HAD TO BE TAKEN
TO THE HOSPITAL AND WE WERE
LATER TOLD THAT THIS OCCURRED
WHILE HE WAS GETTING AN IV IRON
INFUSION.
INFUSION. THE COURT SAID NOTHING BEFORE
THAT THAT SHE WAS GOING DOWN ON
A REGULAR BASIS ONE OR TWO TIMES
A WEEK TO GET IRON INFUSIONS IN
THE COURT’S PHYSICIANS’S’S OFFIC
IT FEELS LIKE WE’RE NOT ALWAYS
GETTING THE FULL STORY IN HER
HEALTH.
HEALTH. >> THE SUBJECT OF BEGINNINGGINSB
HEALTH HAS BEEN THERE FOR A LONG
TIME.
TIME. THE BALANCE IS SO DIFFICULT,
IT’S DEPENDENT WHO HAPPENS TO BE
THE PRESIDENT WHEN ANY VACANCY
HAPPENS TO OCCUR.
THIS QUESTION HAS BEEN ASKED FOR
YEARS ABOUT POTENTIALLY TIMING
ANY EXIT, ANY RETIREMENT FROM
THE COURT.
THE COURT. YOU HAD A FRONT AND CENTER VIEW
OF HER.
OF HER. WHAT IS YOUR SENSE HOW SHE
THINKS ABOUT THAT QUESTION?
>> WELL, I THINK SHE THINKS
FIRST OF ALL AS YOU’VE HAD IN
THE CLIP FROM HER, THAT SHE
LOVES THIS JOB.
SHE’S COMMITTED TO IT.
SHE’S COMMITTED TO THE COURT AND
TO PUBLIC SERVICE AND THAT SHE
WILL CONTINUE TO DO IT AS LONG
AS SHE FEELS SHE CAN DO IT FULL
STEAM AS SHE SAYS AND SHE’S AN
AMAZING WOMAN TO BE SORT OF A
BIRD-LIKE FIGURE AND I SAY SHE
HAS THE STRENGTH OF SOMEBODY
THREE TIMES HER SIZE.
MY SENSE IS THAT IF SHE WAS
GOING TO TIME HER LEAVING OF THE
COURT FOR POLITICAL REASONS AND
IDEOLOGY REASONS AND PARTISAN
REASONS, SHE WOULD HAVE LEFT
DURING THE PRESIDENCY OF BARACK
OBAMA.
OBAMA. SHE PUTS FIRST AND FOREMOST THE