Ruth Bader Ginsburg to lie in state at Supreme Court and US Capitol building

Ruth Bader Ginsburg will lie in state at the Supreme Court building and at the US Capitol this week in ceremonies that follow coronavirus guidelines.

The late Supreme Court justice’s casket will be on public view Wednesday and Thursday under the portico at the top of the steps in front of the Supreme Court building.

On Friday, she will lie in state in National Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol. 

Ginsburg’s coffin will arrive at the Supreme Court building just before 9:30 a.m. Wednesday for a private ceremony for her family, close friends and fellow justices, the court said in a statement. 

There also will be a formal ceremony at the Capitol on Friday morning that is invitation-only due to the COVID pandemic, Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced.

Her coffin, for both viewing locations, will be placed on the Lincoln Catafalque, which has been loaned to the court by Congress for the ceremony. 

It’s unclear if President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden will pay their respects and, if so, when. 

Ginsburg will be buried next week at Arlington National Cemetery in a private service, the court said in a statement.

Her husband, Martin Ginsburg, was buried at Arlington in 2010. 

It’s an unusually long public celebration for a Supreme Court justice – the third branch of government that flies under the radar compared to the president and members of Congress, likely because the justices do not allow cameras in their court room.

Justices Antonin Scalia, William Brennan Jr., John Paul Stevens and Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist all lay in repose for one day at the court.

But none achieved the level of national fame that Ginsburg received.  

A large crowd is expected to walk past her casket at the court when she lies in repose, given the outpouring of emotion already being particularly by those who view her as a feminist icon and hero to the left. 

Admirers left flowers and notes for Ginsburg on the Supreme Court’s steps in the wake of her passing. 

Ginsburg found fame late in life and became known affectionately as ‘Notorious R.B.G.’ There have been documentaries and movies on her life along with a children’s book about her.  

President Trump has ordered flags at all federal buildings to be at half-staff until after she is laid to rest. Flags at the White House, the Supreme Court and the US Capitol are among those being lowered in her honor.

Ginsburg, the justice beloved of the left who became famous for her fiery dissents, died on Friday at the age of 87 due to complications from her ongoing battle with pancreatic cancer. 

Trump said he would nominate Ginsburg’s replacement on Friday or Saturday – after funeral services have concluded for the late justice.

‘I think it’ll be on Friday or Saturday,’ he said. ‘And we want to pay respect. We, it looks like, it looks like we will have probably services on Thursday or Friday, as I understand it.’ 

Trump, who now has a chance to nominate a third justice to a lifetime appointment on the court, named Amy Coney Barrett, 48, of the Chicago-based 7th Circuit and Barbara Lagoa, 52, of the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit as possible nominees.    

But he told ‘Fox & Friends’ on Monday morning he was seriously looking at four or five possible nominees.

‘I’m looking at five, probably four, but I’m looking at five very seriously,’ Trump said. 

He said his nominee, which he has said will be a woman, should be confirmed before Election Day.

‘I think the final vote should be taken, frankly, before the election. We have plenty of time for that,’ he said.

‘When you have the Senate, when you have the votes, you can do what you want as long as you have it,’ he told ‘Fox & Friends’ on Monday morning.