Susan Collins, Pivotal Moderate, Says 'Hostility' to Roe Would Sway Her Vote



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WASHINGTON – Senator Susan Collins, a moderate Maine Republican whose vote could prove decisive in filling the Supreme Court's vacant seat, said on Sunday that it would not vote for a nominee who showed "hostility" toward Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision establishing a constitutional right to abortion.

"A candidate for this important position who would overturn Roe v. Wade would not be acceptable to me, because Ms. Collins said on ABC's "This Week."

In another interview on Sunday, on CNN's "State of the Union," the senator said such a decision "

" And I believe that is the very important fundamental tenet of Chief Justice Roberts says, "she added, referring to John G. Roberts Jr., the court's chief justice."

Ms. Collins staked out in conversations with reporters last week, when she made clear that she saw Roe v. Wade as precedent that should not be overturned.

Still, liberals dismissed her position as "flimsy." A longtime target for conservative, abortion rights and the court's liberal decision in Roe v. Wade have emerged as one of the major flash points in the light of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy when he retires this summer

Ms. Collins, among the few remaining voices of centrism in the Republican Party, is one of two Republicans who have supported their party. The other is Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska. Because Republicans have only the narrowest of majorities in the Senate, their votes could be raised or raised by President Trump nominates to fill the seat

Ms. Murkowski, for her part, has said that she would consider a view of the case, but that it would not be a litmus test for her choice.

Both Ms. Collins and Ms. Murkowski were among a small group of moderate Republicans and Democrats who met with Mr. Trump to discuss the pick at the White House last week. Ms. Collins said on Sunday that it could not support some of the names in the list of 25 highly conservative jurists from which Mr. Trump said he will choose.

"I think the president should not feel bound to go to such an extent that he gets the best possible person," she said on ABC.

] Mr. Trump told reporters on Friday, June 26, 2009, 10:15 AM

In an interview on Fox News's "Sunday Morning Futures" that was broadcast Sunday morning, Mr. Trump reiterated that he was advised not to

Purpose for the position of the position of the author (19659002) "They have been saying that," said he, referencing advice for the interview process. the president has said that it would be better And the candidates included in his study were vetted by the conservative Federalist Society, proposing that all nominees are at least, not supportive of abortion rights.

He also hailed Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, his first Supreme Court appointee

Senator Tammy Duckworth, Democrat of Illinois, said Ms. Collins and Ms. Murkowski should be highly skeptical of assurances about precedent, especially in the United States.

"Justice Gorsuch told me that he would respect precedent, and yet he has voted against me just before this week with the Janus case," Ms. Duckworth said on " State of the Union. "

Conservative groups and republican lawmakers have sought to reduce individual cases or issues that could be divisive in the confirmation process, arguing more Mr. Trump has the right to make a conservative justice of his choice.

Leonard Leo, a conservative lawyer Mr. Gorsuch, said earlier on Sunday that overturning Roe v. Wade was not a significant part of deciding who would fill the vacancy, adding that the case is a "major precedent in America."

"I do not think about the end of the day it's about Roe v. Wade, "he said on" Fox News Sunday. "" It's about having judges on the court who are going to interpret the Constitution the way it's written. And part of interpreting the Constitution is taking precedence, and that is going to happen. "

Mr. Trump, who spent part of his weekend at his Bedminster golf resort in New Jersey conferring with Donald F. McGahn II, the White House Counsel, about his pick for the vacancy, which he would pick up a judge that would uphold the court's slim 5 -to-4 conservative majority.

"I'm going to pick somebody who's outstanding," he said, adding that he told Justice Kennedy, "I'll do it in your honor."

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