Murkowski in extended hallway interview says Roe v. Wade will be “a factor” she will weigh in her SCOTUS vote, but not the only factor.
Murkowski said she continues to support GORSUCH and recommended him to Trump WH before the pick. She expects to weigh in ahead of the pick again and will look over his list of 25 names.
If Democrats unite in opposition, 2 Republicans would need to vote against Trump nominee to block SCOTUS pick. There happen to be 2 Republican senators who support Roe ad reiterated that today: Murkowski and Susan Collins. But neither is drawing red lines in sand.
I don’t expect any Democratic Senators to vote for a Trump pick unless Rs have the votes anyway. But we will see.
Murkowski sees Kennedy as a “model” justice. But she is being very careful early on. We waited outside her office for a very long time before she came out with her thoughts. While other Republicans are ecstatic, she feels more the stress of the responsibility she now holds.
"I don't think anyone has ever suggested that I'm a pushover on any Supreme Court nomination," Murkowski said.
Of note: Had to press Murkowski multiple times to address Roe, which clearly isn’t her favorite subject and isn’t mentioned in her press release she handed to us. That’s when she said it would be a factor but she said it was a factor in her earlier considerations of nominees too.
When I mentioned Mike Lee told me he’d consider SCOTUS if Trump offered, she said “hmm” with no hint of yea or nay.
