Two GOP Senators Signal Opposition to Pro-Life SCOTUS Appointee
Two GOP Senators may flake on voting for President Donald J. Trump’s Supreme Court appointee upon the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy.
According to Life Site News, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AL) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), both of whom support abortion, could sway the Senate away from Trump’s pick.
“I view Roe v. Wade as being settled law. It’s clearly precedent and I always look for judges who respect precedent,” Collins said.
Murkowski issued a statement in which she praised Kennedy for “holding the Court together and doing right by the Constitution,” adding that she would prefer a Kennedy-esque appointee.
That could spell trouble for for Trump’s nominee. Justice Kennedy is viewed as a centrist, and was often socially liberal.
“[Kennedy] was one of three ‘conservative’ Justices to uphold the decision in Roe V. Wade, a controversial case that essentially legalized abortion, in a 1992 decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
‘At the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own concept of existence, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.’ From the founders’ belief in ‘created equal’ [by God], this language travels to the furthest opposite pole of individual self-definition, verging on self-creation,” Kennedy and his concurring Justices wrote in their opinion in Casey.”
BLP Passage Ends.
Republicans do not have a large buffer for turncoat voters in the Senate. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is on sabbatical battling brain cancer, leaving the Republicans with 50-49 margin. In the event of a tie, Vice President Mike Pence would cast the tie-breaking vote. Two Republicans who oppose Trump’s pick could doom the nominee.
It is highly unlikely that any Democrat will vote for a Trump nominee.
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