WASHINGTON 21 Sep (ANA) - Donald Trump's move to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before the presidential election is an "abuse of power", his Democratic rival Joe Biden says.

 

Mr Trump has said he will nominate a woman to replace the longstanding liberal justice.

 

Mr Biden has urged Senate Republicans to delay a confirmation vote.

 

Ginsburg, a liberal icon and feminist standard-bearer, died on Friday, aged 87.

 

The appointment of judges to the Supreme Court is a political decision in which the president chooses who is put forward. The Senate then votes to confirm - or reject - that choice.

 

Democrats fear Republicans will vote to lock in a decades-long conservative majority on the country's highest court.

 

The ideological balance of the nine-member court is crucial to its rulings on the most important issues in US law.

 

Mr Biden on Sunday said the president had "made clear this is about power, pure and simple".

 

"The United States constitution allows Americans the chance to be heard - and their voice should be heard... they should make it clear, they will not stand for this abuse of power," he said.(ANA)

FA/ANA/21 September 2020--------