Sen. Collins sees no reason to filibuster Kagan at this point

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she sees no reason to
filibuster Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan unless something dramatic emerges
during Senate hearings.

“At this point I do not see the extraordinary circumstances
that I use as a standard to determine whether to filibuster a nominee,” said
Collins, a member of the Senate Gang of 14, which set the threshold for
filibustering court picks.

The seven centrist Democrats and seven centrist Republicans
decided filibusters were warranted in only “extraordinary circumstances.”

{mosads}“Keep in mind we’ve not yet had the judiciary hearings, it’s
possible something new will come out,” said Collins. “But at this point I do
not see any grounds for a filibuster.” 

While Collins said it’s unlikely she would block a final
vote on Kagan, she said she would wait before deciding whether to vote yes or
no on the nomination itself. Collins will not announce her position until the
Senate Judiciary Committee completed its hearings, probably in July.

Some Republicans have criticized Kagan, the nation’s
solicitor general, for having never served as a judge. But Collins said that
would not impact her support.

“I do not believe her lack of judicial experience in any way
disqualifies her,” Collins said. “If you look at the history of the Supreme
Court, [former Chief Justice] William Rehnquist served very ably despite a lack
of judicial experience.”

“I was very impressed with Ms. Kagan, she’s clearly
extremely bright, she has thought deeply about the issues and we had discussions
on a wide range of issues,” Collins said.

Collins said she discussed abortion rights with Kagan and
the nominee said she considered Roe v. Wade, the landmark case establishing a
woman’s right to an abortion, “settled law.”