Sen. Susan Collins Says She'll Vote No On Trump's SCOTUS Nominee Before Election Day
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Tuesday that she would vote against President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee before Election Day, signaling Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) likely doesn’t need her vote to ensure the nominee is confirmed.
Collins’ pledge followed a statement she made Saturday, in which she said she opposes the Senate holding a confirmation vote ahead of the Nov. 3 election. Just hours after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Friday, McConnell announced Trump’s nominee would receive a vote on the Senate floor.
Trump is expected to announce his nominee on Saturday, and has called for the confirmation vote to be held before Nov. 3.
“I made it very clear ... that I did not think there should be a vote prior to the election,” Collins told reporters Tuesday. “And if there is one, I would oppose the nominee, not because I might not support that nominee under normal circumstances, but we’re simply too close to the election, and in the interest of being fair to the American people and consistent.”
Democrats have accused Republicans of being hypocrites for pushing through a vote on Trump’s nominee ahead of Election Day this year after blocking a confirmation vote on Merrick Garland, then-President Barack Obama’s pick to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia, eight months before the 2016 election.
The Republicans need a simple majority to confirm Trump’s nominee. The GOP holds 53 seats in the upper chamber, while Democrats hold 45. There are two independent senators who caucus with the Democrats.
If Collins follows through on her pledge, but all other Republican senators vote in favor of Trump’s nominee, the nominee will be confirmed.
Only a handful of Republican senators were considered to be potential swing votes in the Supreme Court confirmation vote, including Collins, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah and Cory Gardner of Colorado.
Gardner, who has been a reliable vote for Trump in the...
