GOP Senator Susan Collins stated that she would not support a Supreme Court nominee if he or she would be okay with reversing Roe v. Wade on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday morning.
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“I would not support a nominee who demonstrated hostility to Roe v. Wade because that would mean to me their judicial philosophy did not include a respect for established decisions, established law,” she stated.
“Well, first of all, let me say that there’s big difference between overturning some precedents, such as Plessy v. Ferguson, which was overturned in the school desegregation case in Brown v. the Board of Education, versus overturning a ruling that has been settled law for 46 years,” Sen. Collins said.
The president will have the opportunity to appoint a second judge to the Supreme Court following Justice Anthony Kennedy’s resignation earlier this week. (RELATED: KENNEDY CALLS IT QUITS: LONGTIME SWING JUSTICE HANDS TRUMP THE BIGGEST GIFT OF HIS PRESIDENCY)
“And it involves a constitutional right and has been reaffirmed by the court 26 years ago,” she continued.
Collins’ vote will be crucial to getting a judge confirmed. The Republicans only hold a one seat majority in the senate, and confirmation requires only a simple majority.
Without her affirmative vote, the Senate would be split 50-50 and the vice president would be obligated to cast the deciding vote, but banking on that is a risky proposition.