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| - Mourners flocked Wednesday to pay respects to Ruth Bader Ginsburg as she lay in repose at the Supreme Court in Washington, praising the late justice as an "American patriot" who helped shape US history, particularly for women. Former president Bill Clinton as well as Ginsburg's colleagues on the bench Sonia Sotomayor and Chief Justice John Roberts were among those paying tribute. More than 100 of Ginsburg's former law clerks stood dressed in black on the court steps as her casket was carried up on a crisp September morning. The progressive icon, who died last week, will lie in repose at the court on Wednesday and Thursday, when the White House says US President Donald Trump will visit to pay his respects. On Friday she will become the first woman to lie in state at the US Capitol. Trump has promised to quickly fill her seat, setting the stage for a bitterly partisan battle weeks before the November 3 presidential election as he seeks to tilt the nation's highest court to the right for decades to come. Some mourners at the court Wednesday said they were focused on Ginsburg herself, however, and not the looming fight. "I'm really trying to pay tribute to her, and everything she meant," one, Paul Duffy, told AFP. "I'm not thinking that far ahead," agreed Heather Vandergriff, who said she had come from Tennessee to mourn. Trump, who has already replaced two other Supreme Court justices, has pledged to choose a "great" woman for the lifetime post and said he will announce his pick on Saturday afternoon. But Democratic opponents, led by presidential challenger Joe Biden, are demanding that the process wait until after the election, when it will be known whether Trump will serve a second term. Michelle Mouton, speaking to AFP as she waited for her chance to view Ginsburg's casket at the court, called the Republican rush to push through a nominee "disheartening." Ginsburg, she said, "proved that you don't have to be loud to make a statement." "Her rulings definitely just made a difference in our world, so she's going to be known as a woman with power. Quiet power," Mouton added. "Ginsburg shaped American history, especially for women," said mourner Samantha Jacobs, while another, Virginia Blake-West, called the diminutive justice an "American patriot." Republicans say that with their current control of the White House and the Senate, which is tasked with confirming court nominees, they have the right to vote on the nomination either before the election or during the "lame-duck" session before the inauguration of the next president in January. "We will certainly do that this year," Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell said. Two Republicans have said they do not believe the vote should be held before the election. But on Tuesday another key potential Republican holdout, Mitt Romney, said he plans to move ahead with the process and will vote on the nominee "based upon their qualifications." Adding to tensions, there is fear that leaving Ginsburg's seat unfilled -- reducing the court to eight justices -- raises the possibility of a 4-4 tie in the event of rulings related to election disputes. Trump's Saturday announcement will set the clock ticking on what is likely to be a contentious fight in Congress as Republicans push to get the nominee confirmed at an unusually quick pace. Although Democrats have no way of stopping the procedure, they will seek to inflict political pain on the Republicans over what Biden called an "abuse of power." chp-sms-st/bgs
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