"I have to somehow get over what's happening to my body and focus on my court work," is how Ruth Bader Ginsburg described her pancreatic cancer treatment in 2019. And even on her deathbed, Ginsburg remained focused on her court work: according to NPR, she dictated a message to her granddaughter, Clara Spera, a few days before her death: "According to NPR, she dictated a message to her granddaughter, Clara Spera.

Ginsberg knew the consequences of her death. In fact, she joked about the speculation, saying in 2019 'There was one senator. I think it was after pancreatic cancer, and he announced with great glee that I was going to die within six months. That Senator (I forget his name) is now dead himself. And I am very much alive.

It is no secret that Ginsburg worked very hard to prevent President Trump from succeeding her on the Supreme Court. A diligent health worker, Ginsburg said her personal trainer was the most important person in her life (she lost her husband in 2010). (In fact, that personal trainer, Bryant Johnson, published a book, The RBG Workout, about the one-hour workout the two have been doing for about 20 years: opens in a new tab). (It is a fairly intense workout. Two (open in new tab) different (open in new tab) young, self-described healthy reporters who tried it noted that it was challenging.)

Ginsburg knew that if Trump could appoint a conservative-leaning justice to the Supreme Court to replace her, six of the Supreme Court justices would generally lean conservative and three would lean liberal, making the Court ever more conservative. Because Supreme Court justices often serve for decades (Justice Ginsburg herself served for 27 years), often until they die or, in rare cases, until they retire, the appointment of a Supreme Court justice can in many ways have a greater impact than a single presidential appointment.

Just last week, President Trump released his latest list of Supreme Court justices (open in new tab). The question now becomes: will the President try to push a conservative nominee through before the election and, if he loses the election to Joe Biden, before he leaves office in January?