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It’s a woman’s world: Dems now look to build statues as Biden signs bill honoring first female SC justices

April 14, 2022 | | Print Article

Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the first two female justices to hold seats on the Supreme Court of the United States, will be honored with statues at the Capitol following President Joe Biden’s signing of S.3294 into law on Wednesday.

The legislation, cleared by the Senate and passed by the House last month, directs the Joint Committee of Congress on the Library to obtain and install the statues, either in the Capitol or on Capitol Grounds, according to a statement issued by the White House.

The White House expressed gratitude to those involved in bringing the bill to fruition, including Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ).  Also thanked for the bipartisan effort were Democratic Women’s Caucus co-chairs, Congresswomen Lois Frankel (D-FL), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), and Jackie Speier (D-CA); vice chairs, Congresswomen Veronica Escobar (D-TX) and Sylvia Garcia (D-TX); and Bipartisan Women’s Caucus Co-Chairs, Congresswoman Madeleine Dean (D-PA) and Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón (R).

In a statement released on Twitter, Sen. Klobuchar said, “Today, President Biden signed my bipartisan bill celebrating the trailblazing lives of Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sandra Day O’Connor with statues in the Capitol. A permanent reminder of how they opened doors for women at a time when so many insisted on keeping them shut.”

The DWC called it “an exciting day for children who dream of following in the footsteps of these legal giants.”

“Justices O’Connor & Ginsburg broke the highest and hardest glass ceiling in our judiciary, becoming the first two women to sit on the Supreme Court after persisting through the decades of gender-based discrimination in their academic and professional careers,” DWC continued. “These statues will serve as inspiration to future generations of children from across the country and around the world who pass through the halls of Congress.”

 

Former President Ronald Reagan nominated O’Connor in 1981, making her the first woman to serve on the nation’s highest court.

The iconic and very liberal Ginsburg, considered a feminist hero by many, followed O’Connor in 1983, where she served until her death in 2020 at the age of 87.

The signing comes a week after the Senate confirmation of President Biden’s nomination of the first black female on the bench, the controversial Ketanji Brown Jackson, who will join Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Amy Coney Barrett on a court that is now nearly equally represented by both men and women.

But not everyone on social media is thrilled about the statues.

“Yeah, that’s really taking care of the country’s priorities,” tweeted one user, while another called it “symbolic meaningless gestures.”

Some still haven’t forgiven Ginsburg for not resigning before her death.

“Yes,” a user wrote, “praise RBG for not resigning during the Obama administration and leaving us with a 6-3 conservative court.”

Melissa Fine
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