President Donald Trump needs to expand his Supreme Court justice list of candidates beyond the original 25, particularly as it relates to "a respect for precedence," a signal of support for the Roe v. Wade decision on abortion, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Sunday.
"I told him that I was looking for a nominee that would demonstrate a respect for precedence, a longstanding a vital tenet of our judicial system," Collins told ABC's "This Week." "I also suggested that he broaden his search beyond the list of 25 nominees. The White House counsel told me that there have been a few additional potential nominees added to that list.
"But I think the president should not feel bound by that list and instead should seek out recommendations to ensure that he gets the best possible person."
As two pro-choice women, Collins and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, represent two vital votes in the Senate amid the narrow 51-49 majority. President Trump, needing to understand how they might vote in a Senate confirmation of the Supreme Court justice to replace the retiring Anthony Kennedy this summer, met with those two privately this week.
"The president listened very intently to what Lisa Murkowski and I said – and I got the feeling that he was still deliberating and had not yet reached a decision, and that this was genuine outreach on his part," Colins told ABC host Martha Raddatz.
Collins did acknowledge President Trump was willing to expand his list of potential SCOTUS nominees, and said it was not "unreasonable" to believe the next justice could be confirmed before midterm elections in November.
"I'm going to have an in-depth discussion with the nominee, and I believe very much that Roe v. Wade is settled law, as it has been described by Chief Justice Roberts," Collins told Raddatz. "It has been established as a constitutional right for 46 years – 45 years, and was reaffirmed 26 years ago. So, a nominee position, whether or not they respect precedent, will tell me a lot about whether or not they would overturn Roe v. Wade.
"A candidate of this import position who would overturn Roe v. Wade would not be acceptable to me, because that would indicate an activist agenda that I don't want to see a judge have. And that would indicate to me a failure to respect precedent of fundamental tenet of our judicial system."
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