The Associated Press
WASHINGTON – Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist died Saturday
evening of cancer, ending a remarkable 33-year tenure on the
Supreme Court and creating a rare second vacancy on the nation’s
highest court.
Rehnquist, 80, was surrounded by his three children when he died
at his home in suburban Arlington.
"The Chief Justice battled thyroid cancer since being diagnosed
last October and continued to perform his duties on the court until
a precipitous decline in his health the last couple of days," said
court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg.
Rehnquist was appointed to the Supreme Court as an associate
justice in 1971 by President Nixon and took his seat on Jan. 7,
1972. He was elevated to chief justice by President Reagan in
1986.
His death ends a career during which Rehnquist oversaw the
court’s conservative shift, presided over an impeachment trial and
helped decide a presidential election.
The death leaves President Bush with his second court opening
within four months and sets up what’s expected to be an even more
bruising Senate confirmation battle than that of John Roberts.
It was not immediately clear what impact Rehnquist’s death would
have on confirmation hearings for Roberts, scheduled to begin
Tuesday.
Rehnquist presided over President Clinton’s impeachment trial in
1999, helped settle the 2000 presidential election in Bush’s favor,
and fashioned decisions over the years that diluted the powers of
the federal government while strengthening those of the states.
Arberg said plans regarding funeral arrangements would be
forthcoming.
Bush was notified of Rehnquist’s death shortly before 11 p.m.
EDT.
"President Bush and Mrs. Bush are deeply saddened by the news,"
said White House counselor Dan Bartlett. "It’s a tremendous loss
for our nation." The president was expected to make a personal
statement about Rehnquist on Sunday.
The chief justice passed up a chance to step down over the
summer, which would have given the Senate a chance to confirm his
successor while the court was out of session, and instead Justice
Sandra Day O’Connor announced her retirement to spend time with her
ill husband. Bush chose Roberts, a former Rehnquist clerk and
friend, to replace O’Connor.
Rehnquist said in July that he wanted to stay on the bench as
long as his health would allow.
The president could elevate to chief justice one of the court’s
conservatives, such as Antonin Scalia or Clarence Thomas, but it’s
more likely he will choose someone from outside the court.
Possible replacements include Attorney General Alberto R.
Gonzales and federal courts of appeals judges J. Michael Luttig,
Edith Clement, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Michael McConnell, Emilio
Garza, and James Harvie Wilkinson III. Others mentioned are former
Solicitor General Theodore Olson, lawyer Miguel Estrada and former
deputy attorney general Larry Thompson.
Rehnquist announced last October that he had thyroid cancer. He
had a trachea tube inserted to help him breathe and underwent
radiation and chemotherapy treatments. Details of the chief
justice’s illness and his plans had been tightly guarded. He looked
frail at Bush’s inauguration in January and missed five months of
court sessions before returning to the bench in March.
On the court’s final meeting day of the last term, June 27,
Rehnquist appeared gaunt and had difficulty as he announced the
last decision of the term _ an opinion he wrote upholding a Ten
Commandments display in Texas. His breathing was labored, and he
kept the explanation short.
He had no public appearances over the summer, although he was
filmed by television crews in July as he left the hospital
following two nights for treatment of a fever.
The only chief justice older than Rehnquist was Roger Taney, who
presided over the high court in the mid-1800s until his death at
87.
Rehnquist was also closing in on the record for longest-serving
justice. Only four men were on the court 34 years or longer.