Maine Sen. Susan Collins said Tuesday she plans to vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, giving her the first Republican vote for the role and all but ensuring her place on the court.
Collins made her decision following a second personal meeting with Jackson on Tuesday after the judge met with other swing-vote Republicans, though the Maine senator was the only one to announce her decision following the meeting.
“After reviewing Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s extensive record, watching much of her hearing testimony, and meeting with her twice in person, I have concluded that she possesses the experience, qualifications, and integrity to serve as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court. I will, therefore, vote to confirm her to this position,” Collins said in an emailed statement to the Washington Examiner.
Last year, Collins was among a trio of Republican senators who voted to confirm Jackson to her role on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which also included Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.
THESE THREE GOP SENATORS COULD GIVE BIDEN SCOTUS PICK BIPARTISAN COVER
In her decision on Tuesday, Collins said she was reassured Jackson would not be “bending the law to meet a personal preference” and that Jackson met the prerequisite of her standards to serve on the highest court.
Collins also said she believes that “in recent years,” the process of senators evaluating judicial nominees has “gotten away” from what she perceives to be the appropriate method of operations for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
“In my view, the role under the Constitution assigned to the Senate is to look at the credentials, experience, and qualifications of the nominee. It is not to assess whether a nominee reflects the individual ideology of a senator or would vote exactly as an individual senator would want,” Collins said.
While Murkowski has not signaled her decision, Graham has said he will vote “no” on Jackson when the full Senate votes on the matter in April.
During the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings last week, Graham used his time to voice dissent over President Joe Biden’s choice to nominate Jackson over federal Judge J. Michelle Childs, a contender for the high court spot who Graham argued would gain bipartisan support among Republicans.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
But with Collins’s vote, Jackson is on a glide path to becoming the next justice on the Supreme Court. Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, who some considered a possible no vote, has said he will vote to confirm Jackson.
The committee will reconvene on April 4 to vote to move Jackson’s nomination toward a full vote in the Senate, where she is expected to be confirmed on or before April 11, when lawmakers leave for their spring break.
