For Sen. Collins, Roe v Wade won't be a line in the sand for Supreme Court confirmation

Senator Susan Collins, considered a critical potential swing vote for those hoping to protect women's reproductive rights in the upcoming Supreme Court confirmation process, will not be using support for Roe vs Wade as a criterion in her evaluation of the next nominee.

This clarification of her position -- which is that she will not use any "ideological litmus test" in the process, whether Roe or anything else -- is reported in yesterday's Portland Press Herald. It makes it far less likely that President Trump's nominee will fail to get the 51 votes needed to be confirmed to the lifetime position on the bench.

Details herein, with input from top officials at NARAL and the Planned Parenthood Foundation, AEI's Norm Ornstein, Maine Women's Lobby head Eliza Townsend and former Collins staffer Lance Dustson.

I last wrote about Collins in detail in December, in the aftermath of her divisive vote in favor of the Republican's tax cut measure. Read about her pattern of consistency here, and about her potential role as a check on presidential excess here.