Ruth Ginsburg Retirement Rumors Swirl as Supreme Court Justice Exits Plane by Emergency Chute
On her way to San Francisco Wednesday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was instructed to evacuate her plane at Dulles International Airport by sliding down an emergency chute, according to Court spokesperson McCabe Estrada.
Ginsburg was uninjured during the incident, which began when the pilot became aware of a problem with the engine on the United Airlines Flight 586 and ordered all 179 passengers and crew members to exit the plane, said airport spokesperson Kimberly Gibbs.
Ginsburg, who is the Court’s oldest justice, elicits an extraordinary amount of attention due to concerns about her health, her potential retirement.
In an interview with Nina Totenberg of National Public Radio, Ginsburg responded to a question concerning her retirement.
“I will give the answer that I just gave to you, Nina, a few moments ago, one of the nice perks about this job is that we get to choose paintings from the storage supply of the National Gallery, the Museum of American Art, the Hirshhorn.”
She added: “I had a wonderful painting from the Museum of American Art by Josef Albers. It was taken away for a traveling exhibition and I’m told that it will come back to me sometime in 2012. So I am certainly not going to retire before I get my Albers back. Another answer I can give you is I was appointed at age 60, the same age that Louis Bidenz Brandeis was when he was appointed the court. He stayed until he was 83. So I do have a way to go.”
Ginsburg, 78, has undergone surgery and chemotherapy for cancer and was hospitalized on two other occasions last year. She continues to be quite active.
United spokesman Mike Trevino says one person was injured during the incident but no additional information was given.
