AUGUSTA, Maine — About a hundred people waved signs and chanted "No to Kava-NO" at the State House on Saturday, and urged Maine's senators to decline to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Kavanaugh was nominated earlier this month by President Donald Trump to fill the seat left vacant by retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.
“Judge Brett Kavanaugh has sided time and time again with the interest of the wealthy and powerful over the interests of everyday Americans,” said Eliza Townsend, executive director of Maine Women's Lobby. "Kavanaugh's record on civil rights and criminal justice is deeply worrisome. Because he was handpicked by the conservative Federalist Society, there is no doubt he will vote to undermine or overturn the Affordable Care Act or Roe v. Wade."
Liberal advocacy groups in Maine have vocally objected to virtually all of the names to emerge from President Trump's shortlist, over concerns that the candidates were vetted and even chosen by conservative groups.
The 53-year-old Kavanaugh is a former aide to President George W. Bush and has served as a federal appeals judge in the D.C. Circuit Court since 2006. The 21 groups that organized the rally are asking that Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Independent Sen. Angus King decline to confirm Kavanaugh.
The confirmation vote is expected this fall.
