Susan Collins Is Shocked That Trump Appointees May Have Lied to Her
Sen. Susan Collins is shocked, stunned, and astounded that two conservative, Trump-appointed Supreme Court justices may have deceived her regarding their position on abortion rights.
According to a reported draft majority opinion leaked to Politico, both Justice Neil Gorsuch and Justice Bret Kavanaugh have voted to overturn established precedent, protecting abortion rights, a precedent Collins has repeatedly said they told her they believed was “settled law.”
“If this leaked draft opinion is the final decision and this reporting is accurate, it would be completely inconsistent with what Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh said in their hearings and in our meetings in my office,” Collins said, adding, “Obviously, we won’t know each Justice’s decision and reasoning until the Supreme Court officially announces its opinion in this case.”
Collins was a key vote for Kavanaugh’s 50-48 confirmation. She also voted to confirm Gorsuch.
Collins even defended Kavanaugh in 2019 when he dissented on a case regarding abortion access. She said that Kavanaugh “said under oath many times, as well as to me personally many times, that he considers Roe to be ‘precedent upon precedent’ because it had been reaffirmed in the Casey v. Planned Parenthood case.” And when asked by Jake Tapper if Gorsuch would overturn Roe, Collins replied, “I actually don’t.” She added that she had a “very long discussion with Justice Gorsuch in my office and he pointed out to me that he is a co-author of a whole book on precedent.”
Collins and fellow Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski have introduced a bill that would protect the right to abortion, but it has not been passed and would certainly face a filibuster from fellow Republicans. On Monday, Biden called on Congress to codify abortion rights into federal law, and he urged voters to elect a Democratic majority this November that could make that happen.
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Peter Wade, Khareem Sudlow
