U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 85, is in hospital after falling in her office and fracturing three ribs, the court says.
The justice went to George Washington University Hospital early Thursday after experiencing discomfort overnight. The court says the fall occurred Wednesday evening.
Ginsburg was admitted to the hospital for treatment and observation after tests showed she fractured three ribs.
Ginsburg has survived bouts with colorectal cancer and pancreatic cancer, and had a stent implanted to open a blocked artery in 2014.
Ginsburg, the subject of a recent documentary on her life, was nominated to the Supreme Court by Bill Clinton, taking the oath of office in early 1993. She is the eldest of the justices, but has not indicated she plans to retire anytime soon.
Ginsburg leads the court’s liberal wing. She rebuffed suggestions from some liberals that she should step down in the first two years of President Barack Obama’s second term, when Democrats also controlled the Senate.
She already has hired clerks for the term that extends into 2020, indicating she has no plans to retire.
President Donald Trump has appointed two justices, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, since taking office. Gorsuch was elevated after Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland was not taken up by the Senate.
In an interview during Trump’s campaign, Ginsburg called him a “faker” who “really has an ego.” She later apologized for what she said were inappropriate remarks.