Maine Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins says she hopes President Trump's second U.S. Supreme Court nominee won't be looking to overturn what she called “settled law.”
"I want judges who recognize that their job is not to overturn long settled issues," Collins said.
But Collins also said she won't be applying an ideological litmus test when considering whether to support the president's pick for the high court.
"It is possible ... for a judge to have personal views that are at odds with how he or she rules in a case. And that is as it should be," she said.
Collins' views on Trump's nominee are under heavy scrutiny. She is considered a key swing vote in what will undoubtedly be fierce battle to replace retiring Supreme Court Judge Anthony Kennedy.
Collins is under pressure from reproductive rights advocates to oppose a nominee who supports overturning Roe v Wade, a 1973 ruling that prevents states from banning abortions.
Collins has supported high court nominees from Democratic and Republican presidents, including current Judge Samuel Alito, who in 2006 would not say if he believed Roe v Wade is settled law.
