House Approves Ruth Bader Ginsburg And Sandra Day O'Connor Statues At U.S. Capitol

The House of Representatives approved legislation on Monday to build statues honoring the late Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sandra Day O’Connor at the U.S. Capitol.

There was bipartisan support for the bill, approved by the House in a 349-63 vote. The Senate  had previously voted unanimously to pass a companion bill to erect the statues in December 2021.

The House bill is now headed to President Joe Biden ’s desk for his signature.

According to the legislation , each statue must be placed within two years of the bill’s enactment in a “prominent location in the Capitol or on the Capitol Grounds.” The legislation also suggests that each statue be constructed by “artists from underrepresented demographic groups.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) acknowledged both Ginsburg and O’Connor’s sacrifices and trailblazing efforts on Twitter . 

“Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sandra Day O’Connor opened doors for women at a time when too many insisted on keeping them shut,” Klobuchar tweeted on Tuesday.

By becoming the first two women on the Supreme Court, O’Connor and Ginsburg cleared a path for current Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett.

Judge Kentaji Brown Jackson is expected to follow, and would also become the first Black woman to serve on the highest court in the land.

O’Connor became the first woman to be nominated to the Supreme Court in 1981 by former President Ronald Reagan, fighting for issues such as abortion rights and gender equality until her retirement in 2006.

Ginsburg soon followed O’Connor and became the first Jewish woman to serve on the court after being appointed by former President Bill Clinton in 1993. Nicknamed the “Notorious R.B.G.” for boldly defending women’s rights and equal pay, she served until her death in September 2020.