U.S. Sen. Angus King of Maine this week voted to confirm a controversial solicitor general in Missouri to a lifetime appointment as federal judge, a vote he now acknowledges was a mistake.
King is an independent who caucuses with Democrats and is known as a staunch defender of abortion rights. That's why his vote for Missouri solicitor general Josh Divine to a lifetime post in his home state baffled abortion rights groups.
Divine is considered a hardline conservative with a long record of litigation against abortion rights, including defending Missouri's near total ban on the procedure and its bid to restrict access to medication abortion.
King reportedly indicated that he voted for Divine because he had been recommended by Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri. Divine had worked for Hawley when the senator was Missouri's attorney general.
King told the Huffington Post Thursday that his vote was a mistake, adding that he was not fully aware of Divine's record on abortion rights. A spokesperson for King confirmed that the senator was quoted accurately.
King's vote was not decisive because Senate Republicans, including Sen. Susan Collins, were unified in their support of his confirmation.
