WASHINGTON, D.C. – The following statement was issued by Janis Searles Jones (@InVeritas_Jones), CEO of Ocean Conservancy in reaction to today’s upcoming Senate vote to confirm a new Supreme Court Justice:

“We are deeply troubled that the Senate is violating its own stated principles regarding the fair filling of Supreme Court vacancies. We urge Senators to vote against filling Justice Ginsburg’s seat until after the next Presidential inauguration. This is not just another political fight; this is about respecting our democratic institutions, norms and values.

This transparently political act of bad faith not only debases the leadership of the Senate, it risks eroding the legitimacy of the Supreme Court as a neutral arbiter of law – a critical foundation of our functioning, transparent democracy.

For the future of our democratic institutions, we cannot let the filling of a Supreme Court vacancy devolve into an exercise of raw political power that erodes our foundational principles of non-partisan judicial independence and respect.”