Sen. Susan Collins (R., Maine) said on Sunday that any nominee for the Supreme Court that had demonstrated hostility to Roe V. Wade would not receiver her support.
CNN host Jake Tapper asked Collins about how President Donald Trump expressed desire to nominate justices who may vote to overturn Roe V. Wade if offered the opportunity. Collins, who supports Roe V. Wade, is a key vote in the Senate, where Republicans only have a one vote majority in the chamber.
"With all due respect, the Supreme Court, as we know, it overturns its own rulings all the time," Tapper said. "It has overruled more than 200 of its own decisions, once just last week and it is a stated goal of President Trump and Vice President Pence to appoint Supreme Court justices who will vote to overturn Roe Versus Wade. whether they said it on the campaign trail or they say it now, it's almost immaterial, it's a stated goal."
Collins said there's a difference between overturning cases such as key civil rights cases and abortion. Collins based her opposition to nominees who would overturn Roe V. Wade due to it being an overturn of precedent.
"Well, first of all, let me say that there's big difference between overturning some precedents such as Plessy Versus Ferguson which was overturned in the school desegregation case and Brown versus the Board of Education, versus overturning a ruling that has been settled law for 46 years, 45 years and it involves a constitutional right and has been reaffirmed by the court 26 years ago," Collins said.
Collins added that Chief Justice John Roberts has stated in the past that he considers Roe v. Wade settled law.
"Indeed, Justice Roberts has made very clear that he considers Roe v. Wade to be settled law," Collins said. "I would not support a nominee who demonstrated hostility to Roe v. Wade because that would mean to me that their judicial philosophy did not include a respect for established decisions, established law and I believe that that is the very important fundamental tenant of our judicial system, which as Chief Justice Roberts says, helps to promote stability and even handedness."
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced last week that he would retire, effective July 31, giving President Donald Trump the opportunity to make two appointments in two years to the nation's highest court. The vacancy sets up a bitter confirmation fight right before the midterm elections, where Republicans only have a single vote majority in the Senate. Despite the slim majority, Senate Republicans only need a 51-vote majority to confirm the Supreme Court nominee after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) changed the rules to allow it in the case of Supreme Court justice confirmations. McConnell's move followed the precedent set by former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) when he eliminated the filibuster for judicial nominees and presidential appointments back in 2013.