Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was released from the hospital Thursday after undergoing a heart surgery earlier this week, according to Kathy Arberg, a spokesperson for the court. She is expected to return to work on Monday.
Ginsburg, 81, is the eldest member of the Supreme Court. She was admitted to a Washington, D.C. hospital Wednesday after experiencing discomfort during exercise the night before. Ginsburg underwent a coronary catheterization procedure at the MedStar Heart and Vascular Institute at MedStar Washington Hospital center, the Supreme Court said in a statement. She had a stent placed in her right coronary artery.
RELATED: Ginsburg: Retirement talk ‘misguided’
Despite her advanced age, Ginsburg, who was appointed to the court in 1993 by President Bill Clinton, has made it clear she intends to retire on her own time. Some commentators on the left have called on Ginsburg to retire while President Obama is still in office so he can appoint an equally liberal successor. Ginsburg has become a progressive icon in recent years, thanks in part to her blistering dissents in key cases, including Hobby Lobby, Citizens United and Bush v. Gore.
In a recent interview, Ginsburg pushed back on the notion that Obama could get a liberal justice confirmed by the Senate, which Republicans will control when the next Congress convenes in early 2015. “Who do you think President Obama could appoint at this very day, given the boundaries that we have? If I resign any time this year, he could not successfully appoint anyone I would like to see in the court,” Ginsburg told Elle magazine in September. Adam Howard contributed reporting.
David Taintor Recommended
