Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) on Thursday reportedly told Democrats to slow down on confirming President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Stephen Breyer.
One day after Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced he would give Biden’s nominee a “prompt” confirmation to the Supreme Court, establishment Republican Collins reportedly said the Senate can take its time.
“We can take our time… It is a lifetime appointment, after all,” Collins said, according to Brian Tyler Cohen.
Collins, a Senate swing vote who voted to impeach Donald Trump but also voted to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh, echoed Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) deliberate approach.
In a press release Wednesday, Manchin revealed he would not rubber-stamp Biden’s nominee.
“I take my Constitutional responsibility to advise and consent on a nominee to the Supreme Court very seriously,” Manchin stated. “I look forward to meeting with and evaluating the qualifications of President Biden’s nominee to fill this Supreme Court vacancy.”
Manchin throughout 2021 opposed many radical initiatives proposed by Biden, such as spending $2 trillion of taxpayers’ money in a time of inflation. Manchin hails from a state that voted for Donald Trump in 2020 by nearly 40 points.
It seems likely that Biden’s nominee will be confirmed in the Senate.
Biden promised in 2020, and the White House confirmed Wednesday, that he plans to select a nominee who is black and a woman.
“I’m looking forward to making sure there’s a black woman on the Supreme Court, to make sure we, in fact, get every representation,” Biden said at the time.