Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) will announce how she plans to vote on Brett Kavanaugh’s final confirmation during a 3 p.m. ET Senate floor speech, NBC News reports.
That suggests that this morning’s cloture vote might not be the same as final vote. Collins is expected to vote yes on cloture.
The Portland Press Herald urged Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) not to vote for Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court, “regardless” of what the FBI finds.
“Based on what he demonstrated in his own testimony, Kavanaugh lacks the character and judgment to serve on the Supreme Court…. Kavanaugh revealed that he has an explosive temper and resorts to bullying when he feels threatened… Kavanaugh also showed himself to be impermissibly political for a job that is supposed to be above politics. We’re not naïve. But we have never had a Supreme Court nominee who ripped off the nonpartisan mask the way Kavanaugh did Thursday… After his partisan rant, Kavanaugh will never be able to judge a case without the animus he expressed being considered a factor in his decision.”
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), “who could determine whether Brett Kavanaugh gets a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court, raised serious concerns at a private meeting about the newest allegations of inappropriate behavior against the nominee — and questioned why the Senate Judiciary Committee had not subpoenaed a close friend of the federal judge,” CNN reports.
“Collins appeared unnerved by the latest allegation, citing in particular that it was a sworn statement sent to the panel, which carries with it the possibility of perjury for lying to Congress.”
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Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) told Showtime that she doesn’t believe Brett Kavanaugh will overturn a landmark abortion ruling if he’s confirmed to the Supreme Court.
When asked about how she could potentially be “the vote” that leads to the landmark 1973 case being repealed, she replied: “Well first of all I do not believe he’s going to repeal Roe v. Wade.”
She added that she won’t formally make up her mind on Kavanaugh before hearing from Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Kavanaugh of trying to rape her while they were both in high school.
James Hohmann: “No Democrats will vote for Kavanaugh at this point. That means that he’d go down if two of the 51 Republican senators defect.”
“The two senators considered likeliest to flip are the moderate women from Maine and Alaska, who have remained officially undecided and are both supportive of abortion rights. Each is holding their cards close to the vest. Remember, it was Collins and Murkowski who teamed up with John McCain to block the repeal of Obamacare last year. Because Roy Moore lost the special election in Alabama last December, the GOP now has one fewer seat than it did then.”
“If just one GOP senator defected, Vice President Pence would break the tie. But that’s a political headache for Republicans, too, because members like Nevada’s Dean Heller in 2018 and Cory Gardner in 2020 would inevitably face attack ads that accuse them of casting the deciding vote to put an accused sexual predator on the high court.”
“Also keep an eye on Jeff Flake. Retiring this year, the Arizona Republican is thinking a lot about his legacy. Is this a vote he wants to define it?”
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said she was “appalled” by President Trump’s tweets Friday morning that criticized Christine Blasey Ford for not coming forward sooner with her allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, the Portland Press Herald reports.
Said Collins: “I was appalled by the president’s tweet. First of all, we know that allegations of sexual assault – I’m not saying that’s what happened in this case – but we know allegations of sexual assault are one of the most unreported crimes that exist. So I thought that the president’s tweet was completely inappropriate and wrong.”
CBS News: Republicans thought they were winning the Kavanaugh argument until Trump tweeted.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) announced that she wants the attorney for Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, to question the judge, The Hill reports.
She added that she would ask Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the panel’s ranking member, to allow the questioning. She also said Kavanaugh’s attorney should question Ford.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) has received 3,000 coat hangers, symbolizing back-alley abortions, from activists trying to persuade her to vote against the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, the AP reports.
Meanwhile, CrowdPAC has already raised more than $750,000 which will go to Collins’s Democratic opponent in 2020 should Collins vote to confirm Kavanaugh.
“While Democrats are crying foul after Republican leaders angled to limit disclosures of documents related to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s past work, one of the GOP senators whose vote may be pivotal to his confirmation says she’s just fine with it,” Bloomberg reports.
“Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) told reporters Tuesday that she has no objection to a decision late Friday by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, to leave out of a federal document request all the paperwork and emails from Kavanaugh’s time as staff secretary to President George W. Bush.”
CNN: “Democrats are hoping Collins will defy her party once again and vote against President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh… But a Collins “no” vote on Trump’s nominee is not something Democrats should bet on. She’s never voted against a Supreme Court nominee of either party. Further, Collins is a Republican, and the person nominating Kavanaugh is a Republican. That’s normally a recipe for a vote for confirmation to the Supreme Court.”
“Even worse for Democrats’ hopes, Collins was a more reliable vote for her party last year than in any other year she’s been a senator.”
“During her 21 years in the Senate, Collins has voted for judicial nominees put forward by Republican presidents nearly 99 percent of the time, according to a Boston Globe analysis of more than 500 of her roll-call votes for Supreme Court, circuit court of appeals, district court, and other judicial appointments.”
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), a critical vote on whomever President Trump nominates to replace Justice Kennedy on the Supreme Court, told ABC News that any nominee who would overturn Roe v. Wade would “not be acceptable.”
“Collins said that when she met with the president to discuss the need to fill the seat of Kennedy, who announced his retirement last week, she told him that several qualities are important, including judicial temperament, intellect, fidelity to the rule of law and ‘most important of all, respect for precedent.'”
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) slammed former FBI Director James Comey for releasing his memoir during the ongoing Russia probe, saying she worries the book could interfere with the investigations, NBC News reports.
Said Collins: “I cannot imagine why an FBI director would seek to essentially cash in on a book when the investigation is very much alive. He should have waited to do his memoir.”
“President Trump’s legislative affairs director, Marc Short, stood just off the Senate floor as Republicans cast a party-line vote on Trump’s tax package late last year, but his moment of triumph was brief. As she walked off the floor, Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins spotted Short — and she exploded,” Politico reports.
“The White House had promised Collins, a moderate, that it would seek a vote before recess on guaranteeing payments to health insurers in order to stabilize Obamacare markets, a key issue for her. But under intense opposition from pro-life groups and from House conservatives, no such vote materialized. Collins berated Short for reneging on the deal and then walked off after Short tried to explain.”
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) blasted media coverage of her support for the GOP tax bill as “extremely discouraging” and “unbelievably sexist,” Politico reports.
Said Collins: “They’ve ignored everything that I’ve gotten and written story after story about how I’m duped. How am I duped when all your amendments get accepted?”
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) told Bloomberg that she will vote in favor on the Republican tax plan when it comes to the Senate floor tomorrow.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) is still reviewing the tax bill, her spokeswoman said, suggesting she hasn’t yet reached a decision on how to vote, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“She has come under pressure from some groups in Maine to vote against the tax bill, in part because it repeals a mandate that most Americans buy health insurance or pay a penalty, a key pillar of the Affordable Care Act.”
James Hohmann: “The health insurance market is almost certain to implode next year, and rates are likely to skyrocket for many, because of the repeal of the individual mandate. By getting rid of the linchpin of the Affordable Care Act in this bill, Republicans are giving up any standing they had to blame Barack Obama for the health-care mess. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this change alone will lead to 13 million more uninsured Americans a decade from now.”
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said she “has not yet decided whether she will back the final measure negotiated by House and Senate leaders,” Reuters reports.
“Collins’ vote was important since the Senate approved the bill by 51-49 vote after an 11th-hour scramble. With Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) voting against the bill, there is little margin for losing support.”
“If Collins and Corker vote against the final tax bill, leading to a 50-50 tie, Vice President Mike Pence would cast the winning vote. But if more than two Republican senators vote no, it would fail.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
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