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WASHINGTON – The announcement of the retreat of Judge Anthony M. Kennedy dates back less than a day when Liberal activists gathered on Thursday in the footsteps of the Supreme Court, citing the names of two senators Republicans who they believe hold the future of Roe v Wade in their hands.
"Remember Susan Collins! Remember Lisa Murkowski!" Neera Tanden, President of the Liberal Center for American Progress, urged the crowd. "If they claim to be pro-choice, the choice is in line with this decision. "
Ms. Collins, of Maine, and Mrs. Murkowski, of Alaska, are powerful – and rare – creatures in Washington: moderate Republican women who promote human rights. Abortion and do not be afraid to break with their party.Their negative votes helped sink the Republican repeal of the Affordable Care Act last year; vehemently to a provision that would have deprived the funding of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Women's Health and Reproductive Rights Organization
Now, with President Trump's promise to appoint a "pro-life" lawyer Senators are under pressure like never before. Like Justice Kennedy, these are swing votes – not in a lawsuit, but in an upcoming confirmation battle that will shape the Supreme Court and American case law for generations to come.
Math in the Senate tells the story. With Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona, who is undergoing treatment for cancer, Republicans have the lowest majority of majorities: 50-49. If every Democrat votes against a Trump candidate, it would just take a Republican defector to block the confirmation. And with a filibuster is no longer an option, Democrats are powerless to block a candidate by themselves.
So, in the minutes of Justice Kennedy's announcement Wednesday, the Democrats and their allies began to turn to Mrs. Collins and Ms. Murkowski. ] So did the White House. Ms. Collins and Ms. Murkowski were part of a bipartisan group of six senators who met separately with Mr. Trump on Thursday night to discuss the vacancy of the court. Earlier Thursday, Ms. Collins said in an interview that she had received a call from White House lawyer Donald F. McGahn II, and that she had urged him to look beyond the list of deeply conservative jurists that Mr. Trump has promised to choose – a significant demand, given that Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, said the Democrats will not support any candidate on this list
. Schumer also made it clear that he would make the fate of Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision of 1973 that established a constitutional right to abortion, the centerpiece of the Democrats' strategy to block any candidate whom they consider to be extreme. Ms. Collins, carefully choosing her words, suggested that Roe be included in her decision-making.
"I believe in the precedent," she said. "In my opinion, Roe v. Wade is a well-established law, and although I recognize that it is inappropriate to ask a candidate how he would decide in a future case, I would certainly ask him what his views are on the role of precedent.
Both senators are well aware that, no matter how they vote, some will be unhappy. Mrs. Murkowski admitted to having felt the weight of the moment
"There is pressure because of the seriousness of such an appointment," Mrs. Murkowski told Politico. "I am not going to suggest that my opportunity as a senator in the process of consultation and consent is in one way or another cut simply because it is a Republican President and I am republican."
Sen. Chris Murphy, Connecticut Democrat, framed the situation for Ms. Murkowski and Ms. Collins this way: "This is a legacy vote, very few people in the Senate, even those who have been here for a long time, will be voting more that. "
Liberal activists and Mr. Schumer demanded that a candidate be confirmed only after the November election, but Republican Senator Mitch McConnell promised a fast, with a vote of confirmation in the fall.
For Democrats, the unified opposition will be difficult – especially in an election year where 10 Senate Democrats are in place for reelection in the won states by Mr. Trump Three of these Democrats – Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Joe Manchin of West Virginia – voted last year to confirm Judge Neil M. Gorsuch. and Mrs. Murkowski
D Since then, Justice Gorsuch has emerged as a consistent vote in the Conservative block of the High Court.
To say that tensions are high in the Senate around Supreme Court candidates would be a euphemism. 2016's injuries remain raw and open. Democrats are still angry that Republicans, led by Mr. McConnell, are blocking President Barack Obama's candidate, Judge Merrick B. Garland of the Federal Court of Appeal, by refusing him an audition – and giving Mr. Trump the opportunity to summon Judge Gorsuch
Ms.. Murkowski took the leadership role then. But Ms. Collins broke ranks and asked Judge Garland to have an audience – a time she recalled Thursday. "This is not a pleasant situation," she said, referring to the Kennedy vacancy. "But it's not strange to me."
Neither Ms. Murkowski nor Ms. Collins will be re-elected this year, which gives them some freedom in the way they vote. Yet, they are likely to cope with pressure at home. Eliza Townsend, executive director of the Maine Women's Lobby, a women's rights group, said her organization intended to intensify her contacts with Ms. Collins
"people Maine understand that this is for all the balls ". "It's a critical and critical moment."
million. Murkowski and Ms. Collins have long been independent personalities in the Senate. In 2010, when Ms. Murkowski came forward for reelection, she lost in a primary to a Republican Tea Party. Instead of fainting, she launched a writing campaign – posing a challenge to voters who needed to know how to spell "Murkowski" – and won. Victory actually released party constraints
. Collins has a reputation for working on the other side of the aisle. In 2013, she led an effort among Senate women, including Ms. Murkowski, to end the closure of this year's government. As co-chair of a bipartisan group called the Common Sense Coalition, she helped end this year's closure.
Last week, she helped two ideological opponents, Senator Ted Cruz, Texas Republican and Senator Dianne. Feinstein, Democrat of California, to work on immigration legislation.
Conservative lawyers said Thursday that they were confident that both would confirm the president's choice.
"We have seen in their statements that they are both very concerned about a I think it's exactly what we will get: somebody with whom they are not at it. 39, but very happy to vote for, "said Carrie Severino, chief of state, lawyer and director of politics of Judicial Crisis Network, a conservative defense group.
The Senate being gone for her suspension on July 4, Ms. Collins and Ms. Murkowski may take a short break, but once Mr. Trump appoints a candidate, the pressure will increase
"These are two women who have been very clear for many decades , our constitutional right that protects women's most important right to privacy. – is important to them, "said Judith L. Lichtman, past president of the National Partnership for Women and Families and long-time advocate for women's rights in Washington. "And now they have a chance to prove it."
Thomas Kaplan contributed reports from Washington
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