Ginsburg's recovery 'on track' but will miss more U.S. high court arguments

[January 12, 2019]  By Lawrence Hurley

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who missed three days of oral arguments this week, will miss another three days next week but her recovery from lung cancer surgery is "on track," a court spokeswoman said on Friday.

Ginsburg, 85, will continue to work from home and participate in all the cases she has missed, spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said in a statement.

"Her recovery from surgery is on track. Post-surgery evaluation indicates no evidence of remaining disease, and no further treatment is required," Arberg added.

After next week's three cases, the court is due to take a break until the middle of February. The justices will next be on the bench on Feb. 19, when they are due to hear a contentious case arising from President Donald Trump's administration's decision to include a citizenship question in the 2020 census.

Ginsburg, who joined the court in 1993, underwent a surgical procedure called a pulmonary lobectomy on Dec. 21 at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York to remove two cancerous nodules in her left lung. She was released from the hospital on Dec. 25.

Monday was the first time Ginsburg, the oldest member of the nine-justice court, has missed oral arguments as a result of her various health scares, including two previous cancer diagnoses. Ginsburg broke three ribs in a fall in November, which led to doctors' discovery of the lung nodules.

U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen during a group portrait session for the new full court at the Supreme Court in Washington, U.S., November 30, 2018. REUTERS/Jim Young/File Photo/File Photo

If Ginsburg, one of the court's four liberal members, were unable to continue serving, Trump could replace her with a conservative, further shifting the court to the right. Trump has added two justices since becoming president in January 2017, cementing its 5-4 conservative majority.

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham)

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