| Translate This News In |
|---|
Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, stated that while she supports diversity on the Supreme Court, President Joe Biden’s handling of the replacement for retiring Justice Stephen Breyer has been “clumsy at best.”
“I would welcome the appointment of a Black female to the court,” the Republican senator said on Sunday’s “This Week” with George Stephanopoulos. “In my perspective, diversity strengthens the Supreme Court. The president’s handling of this nomination, on the other hand, has been at best unprofessional.”
On Wednesday, Breyer announced his retirement from the Supreme Court, and President Joe Biden promised to replace him with a Black woman, a promise he made during the campaign. Collins criticized the decision, telling Stephanopoulos that Biden’s statements as a presidential candidate “aided in politicizing the entire nomination process.”
“It contributes to the notion that the court is a political entity like Congress, which it is not,” Collins noted. “So I am certainly open to anybody he chooses. My obligation as a senator is to assess that person’s qualifications under the advice and consent position.”
In reference to his prior interview with Senator Dick Durbin, Stephanopoulos inquired: “You describe it as sloppy. But, as Senator Durbin pointed out, isn’t this exactly what [President] Reagan did when he stated his intention to appoint a woman to the Supreme Court? Isn’t this what President Trump meant when he claimed he’d choose a woman to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg?”
“Actually, this isn’t the same thing. I investigated what was done in both circumstances. And as a candidate, President Biden made this vow. And this aided in the politicization of the entire nomination process “Collins said. “President Reagan stated that he would want to appoint a woman to the Supreme Court as one of his justices. And he chose a highly competent candidate in Sandra Day O’Connor.”
Stephanopoulos addressed the idea of politicization: “Isn’t this process, no matter what you do, politicized? Consider what transpired following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Justice Barrett was confirmed in record time, which is probably why you voted against her.”
“In fact, I voted against Amy Coney Barrett because her candidacy and the vacancy occurred too close to the election, the presidential election,” Collins remarked.
