Republican Sen. Susan Collins made it clear on Tuesday that she will vote against a Supreme Court nominee if a Senate vote occurs before the November election.
Collins’ comments to a gaggle of D.C. reporters clarified a statement she released last weekend. In that statement Collins said no nomination vote should occur before Election Day, but she did not address whether she would oppose President Donald Trump’s nominee if Senate Republicans fast-track the vote before the election.
Collins made it clear Tuesday that she would vote no, citing the proximity of the election and the decision by Republicans in 2016 to block President Barack Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court because it was made in an election year.
Collins, who faces a difficult path to win reelection, is one of two Republicans who will oppose Trump’s nomination if a vote occurs before Election Day.
But her opposition may not matter because four Republicans are needed to stop the president’s nomination.
