Collins Won't Back Nominee With 'Hostility' to Roe v. Wade

GOP Sen. Susan Collins used this week's Sunday morning circuit to make clear that she is not going to vote for any Supreme Court nominee who appears to be against a woman's right to choose to have an abortion. "I would not support a nominee who demonstrated hostility to Roe v. Wade because that would mean to me that their judicial philosophy did not include a respect for established decisions," Collins said on CNN's State of the Union. A well-established moderate on many issues, Collins said she met with President Trump recently to discuss his choice to replace outgoing Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. Collins reportedly wants the president to tack on some additional jurists to his list of 25 potential new justices. In an appearance on ABC's This Week, Collins said Trump's current list includes people she "could not vote for."

In both interviews, Collins emphasized the importance she places on SCOTUS respecting legal precedent. "What I want to see is a nominee who, regardless of his or her personal views on the very difficult and contentious life issue, is going to respect precedent, regardless," Collins said. Another key legislator, this one from the other side of the aisle, has reportedly urged Trump not to choose a candidate who has openly opposed abortion rights. Per the AP, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat, met with the president and told him the issue, and that of the Affordable Care Act, is just too radioactive. "All that stuff is red flags for all Americans," Manchin reportedly said. "If he picks somebody that's hardcore on Roe v. Wade or that's hardcore on repealing health care that's a bigger lift." (More Susan Collins stories.)