Baldwin to oppose U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Democratic senator criticized by Republicans
The battle over U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh took center stage in Wisconsin’s U.S. Senate race Thursday.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin said she’ll oppose President Donald Trump’s pick to the court, igniting a storm of criticism from her Republican rivals.
Baldwin’s opposition was expected, as she raised concerns about the court overturning abortion rights and the Affordable Care Act.
But the timing was swift, coming just days after Trump nominated Kavanaugh for the seat to be vacated by retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.
Kavanaugh, whose nomination is strongly supported by conservative groups, is a judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
“After reviewing this nominee’s record, I know why powerful special interests in Washington selected Judge Brett Kavanaugh to work on the Supreme Court for them, not the people of Wisconsin,” Baldwin said in her statement.
“At a time when so many in Washington are working to overturn the law of the land that helps provide affordable health care for 133 million Americans with pre-existing conditions, including more than two million Wisconsinites, we cannot afford a nominee who could serve as the deciding vote to take us back to the days when powerful insurance companies wrote the rules,” she said.
Baldwin also raised the issue of abortion rights in detailing her opposition
to Kavanaugh.
“The President vowed to appoint judges to the Supreme Court who would overturn Roe v. Wade, and I cannot support a nominee for a lifetime appointment who would turn back the clock on a woman’s constitutional right and freedom to make her own health care choices, including access to birth control,” she said.
Baldwin faces a difficult re-election fight this fall in a state that Trump won in 2016.
Within minutes of Baldwin’s announcement, Republican Senate candidate Leah Vukmir of Brookfield harshly criticized the first-term senator in a tweet and a follow-up statement.
Vukmir said Baldwin’s “obstruction on Judge Kavanaugh’s appointment is proof that she’d rather stand with her liberal activist San Francisco donors than uphold the Constitution.”
“When Wisconsin voters elected President Trump, they knew he’d choose judges who would uphold the Constitution,” Vukmir added.
“Senator Baldwin’s ‘no’ vote will directly contradict the will of the people. Kavanaugh is an extremely well-qualified nominee who deserves our support.”
Vukmir’s rival in the Aug. 14 GOP primary, Delafield businessman Kevin Nicholson, said “it is no surprise that a liberal obstructionist like Tammy Baldwin” announced her opposition to Kavanaugh.
“This is just one of the many reasons why we need to defeat Baldwin and increasing the Republican majority in the U.S. Senate,” Nicholson said.
Wisconsin’s other U.S. senator, Republican Ron Johnson, lauded Trump’s pick for the court.