Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, on Sunday defended her choice to support Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh after he sided with liberal justices in the first abortion case to be considered by the court since he joined the bench.
“Planned Parenthood was Brett Kavanaugh’s No. 1 opponent. They went after him with everything that they had. And yet, when it came to this case, he was able to put that aside and rule impartially, independently,” Collins told CNN.
Collins told the network last week she “certainly” did feel “vindication” after Kavanaugh joined Chief Justice John Roberts in denying a request to review a lower court decision from Kansas and Louisiana about defunding Planned Parenthood. As a result of the Supreme Court declining to take the case, a ruling preventing the states from rescinding Medicaid contracts with Planned Parenthood affiliates was left intact.
[Opinion: Brett Kavanaugh sides with liberal justices in declining to hear Planned Parenthood defunding case]
“I was trying to speak to his temperament, and his fairness, and his impartiality, which I think he did demonstrate in this case,” she to CNN Sunday.
Collins was among the key swing votes in the Senate during Kavanaugh’s confirmation process and was targeted by liberal activists trying to sway her against the now-Supreme Court justice. She eventually voted with her party and backed Kavanaugh’s nomination to the court.
