Court pick meets Maine senator on abortion issue
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Tuesday said he views Roe v. Wade as settled law, according to Sen. Susan Collins of Maine.
In a two-hour meeting, Kavanaugh told Collins that he agrees with Chief Justice John Roberts, who called Roe v. Wade settled law during his confirmation hearings in 2005.
“We talked at great length about precedent and the application of stare decisis to abortion cases,” Collins said, using the legal term for settled precedent.
Kavanaugh’s views on abortion are of major importance to Collins, as the Maine Republican had vowed to oppose President Donald Trump’s nominee if he had “demonstrated hostility” to the 1973 decision codifying abortion rights.
Collins called the meeting “very informative” and said they discussed a variety of topics. She said she would not make a decision on how to vote until after the Senate Judiciary Committee holds confirmation hearings for Kavanaugh, set for next month.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., met with Kavanaugh later Tuesday. He said the judge refused to answer when asked directly whether Roe. v. Wade was correctly decided.
Schumer said they also spent much of the interview going over Kavanaugh’s years working at the White House under President George W. Bush. “Unfortunately, the judge either wouldn’t answer or could not remember key moments of his tenure,” the senator said.
Schumer said that Kavanaugh’s inability to “recall almost anything that happened while he was secretary for the president or while he was counsel is why we need his full record released to the American people.”
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-iowa, said the Democrats’ demand for more records is a stall tactic.
“We know the true reason for their unprecedented document demand: to delay Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation until after the midterm elections, when the Senate Democrats hope to win back the Senate and block Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination forever,” Grassley said.
The Senate’s No. 2 Republican, John Cornyn of Texas, said senators will have all the paperwork they need to make a decision on Kavanaugh’s nomination. “I’m confident he will be confirmed,” Cornyn said.
While Schumer was working to build opposition, several Democrats from states that Trump won in the 2016 election remained undecided about how to vote, including Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Claire Mccaskill of Missouri.