Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg is hospitalized after the fall

Judge Ginsburg is the oldest member of the court and the oldest of his Liberal minority. President Clinton appointed him in 1993.

Judge Ginsburg, the second woman to sit on the High Court, has received a lot of attention in recent years as political battles against the court's instructions, including the fierce fight over Justice Kavanaugh's confirmation , took the limelight. The court has long had a narrow conservative majority, but the narrow ideological division between the judges makes any potential vacancy subject to intense speculation.

Thursday's inauguration could not avoid implicit references to the political struggles surrounding the court, although it is part of a centuries-old ceremonial script. President Trump, accompanied by the First Lady, was sitting a few steps from the seat where Judge Ginsburg's seat, between Chief Justice John Roberts and Judge Samuel Alito, was clearly vacant.

Lisa Blatt, a self-proclaimed liberal feminist whose early endorsement of Judge Kavanaugh has helped to weaken her reputation as an uncompromising conservative in the courtroom, has at least accused Christine Blasey Ford, professor of California psychology, of 39, accused the candidate of being assaulted. she led to a teenage party in the 1980s. This led Judge Kavanaugh to make a categorical refusal and to accuse the Senate Democrats and leftist groups of trying to mess it up.

When the Chief Justice called for the formal motion to install Judge Kavanaugh, Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker began his first full day of work and took the lectern to recite the replies.

"Thank you, Attorney General Whitaker, your request is granted," said Chief Justice Roberts. Several former Republican attorneys general, including John Ashcroft, Alberto Gonzales and Michael Mukasey, were present, but no sign of Jeff Sessions, who resigned Wednesday under Trump's instructions.

But Mr. Sessions managed to make an appearance; the Clerk read Judge Kavanaugh's Presidential Commission and concluded by indicating the name of his signatory: "Jefferson B. Sessions III, Attorney General".

Other members of the court reflected the range of tragic dramas past and present in Washington. Former Whitewater Attorney Kenneth Starr, who has previously mentored Judge Kavanaugh, attended the conference, along with former Trump Councilor Don McGahn, who played a key role in passing the candidate to his confirmation vote 50-48 last month.

Judge Anthony Kennedy, whose retirement in July opened Judge Kavanaugh, his former law clerk, was present. The same was true of former colleagues of the new judge at the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia, including his chief justice, Merrick Garland, whose own appointment to the Supreme Court in March 2016, was ignored by Senate Republicans, who refused to grant a hearing. or vote to anyone nominated by President Obama.

The Kavanaugh ceremony deviated from tradition: citing security concerns, the court overturned the traditional march that the new justice, accompanied by the Chief Justice, draws the bronze monumental doors of the building through the marble steps, to greet the public and photographs.

The court did not specify any threats, but Kavanaugh's contradictory confirmation hearings were often disrupted by protesters hostile to his conservative and critical views on his ties to President Trump.

Before the ceremony, the president briefly met the judges in their private conference room, the court said.

Some liberal law activists had asked Judge Ginsburg to step down under Obama's presidency, so he could appoint a like-minded successor. She then refused and always said she would serve as long as she was up to the task, noting that her colleague, Judge John Paul Stevens, had not retired before age 90.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Judge Ginsburg had, in interviews, criticized the candidate of the time, calling it "false". Mr. Trump replied with a tweet: "Judge Ginsburg of the United States Supreme Court has embarrassed me by making me.His spirit is defeated – quit!

Legal commentators have stated that Justice Ginsburg's comments about Mr. Trump were inappropriate, which she acknowledged apologizing for engaging in a political contest.

Although deprived of the flamboyance of her late colleague and friend, conservative Judge Antonin Scalia, Judge Ginsburg has become something of a progressive icon – and a figure of pop culture – in recent years.

It was the subject of a documentary film, "RBG", and the actress Felicity Jones will embody it in a drama about her ascent as the leading advocate for women's rights, "On the basis of sex," which should be released in theaters at Christmas Day. She has been transformed into an action figure, a Halloween costume and a design pattern for tote bags and t-shirts.

Justice Ginsburg's health has been a focus of attention for years. She fractured two ribs in 2012 and survived two cancer crises. Decreasing justice works slowly and cautiously when it goes up and down from the seat when the Supreme Court sits. But she also works regularly with a personal trainer, sessions that have been narrated in newspapers and on TV late at night.

Her husband, Professor of Law and Tax Attorney Martin Ginsburg, passed away in 2010.

Justice has a few weeks before she has to worry about missing a deal. The court has a private conference scheduled for Friday and could make new rulings on Tuesday, but there is no plan to hear oral argument again until November 26th.

Corrections & Amplifications
Matthew Whitaker is the Acting Attorney General. An earlier version of this article incorrectly indicated his first name as Mark and omitted the word "actor" from his title. (November 8, 2018)

Write to Jess Bravin at [email protected] and Brent Kendall at [email protected]