A photo of 85-year-old Ruth Bader Ginsburg planking is going viral after Justice Kennedy's SCOTUS retirement news

Erin Donnelly
·Yahoo Life Senior Editor

Justice Anthony Kennedy’s announcement that he will retire from the Supreme Court this summer has been met with excitement from conservatives, dismay from liberals, and concern over how the senior associate justice’s departure might affect issues like abortion, LGBTQ rights, gun control, immigration, and more.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg is serving up hope — and #GymGoals. (Photo: Michael Kovac/Getty Images)
Ruth Bader Ginsburg is serving up hope — and #GymGoals. (Photo: Michael Kovac/Getty Images)

While the news came as a shock to many, it’s worth noting that, at 81 years old and more than 30 years into his SCOTUS career, Kennedy was already well past the age (63, according to census data) at which the average American retires. And yet the court’s go-to swing vote is still two years shy of the projected departure age for Supreme Court justices, which is 83.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, meanwhile, celebrated her 85th birthday in March — and those who fear that a Kennedy replacement appointed by President Trump would sway SCOTUS in conservatives’ favor are counting on her to stay put. In addition to being the oldest justice, Ginsburg is also one of the most liberal, and her exit before the end of Trump’s term would result in a major power shift.

Fans of the “Notorious RBG” have two reasons to be optimistic that that won’t happen. Firstly, Ginsburg is still five years younger than the oldest-ever justice, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., who stepped down in 1932 at age 90. Secondly, she’s fit as a fiddle — at least according to this still from the 2018 RBG documentary.

RBG director Julie Cohen tweeted the image of Ginsburg’s impressive planking skills following Kennedy’s retirement announcement, and it’s offering both a glimmer of hope to Trump critics as well as some serious workout inspo.

According to Notorious RBG, the biography written by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik, the two-time cancer survivor swears by a circuit training workout inspired by the Royal Canadian Air Force. She also works with a personal trainer and is so serious about her gym time that she once cut short a meeting with former President Barack Obama to squeeze in a workout.

That’s all good news for liberals and Ginsburg supporters. Now perhaps they can direct their attention to Clinton-appointed Justice Stephen Breyer, who will turn 80 in August.

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