Collins defends Kavanaugh confirmation vote
Susan CollinsU.S. senator speaking to reporters
Collins said she did not regret voting to confirm Kavanaugh, although she disagreed with his Dobbs vote.
Responding to
Collins's 2018 vote to confirm Kavanaugh remains justified despite his vote to overturn Roe and Casey in Dobbs.
“I do not regret that (confirmation) vote”
Interview
Official statement
Other statements by Susan Collins in this case
- Collins denies Platner's accusation about her Kavanaugh voteEarlier: Denied
- Collins tells Fox News Roe would have fallen with or without KavanaughLater: Minimized
- Collins tells CNN she judged Kavanaugh on his qualificationsLater: Defended or excused
Where this statement fits
Was Susan Collins's 2018 vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh justified after Dobbs?
In 2018 Susan Collins supported Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation, citing his discussion of precedent and Roe v. Wade. He joined the 2022 Dobbs opinion overruling Roe, which Collins said conflicted with what he had told her about long-standing precedent. In June 2026 she said she did not regret the confirmation vote while disagreeing with his Dobbs vote. Her critics argue that the confirmation enabled the loss of nationwide abortion protections.
Source and context
Interview
About this source
Collins's remarks to reporters after a banking conference in Portland, in which she defends her 2018 confirmation vote while disagreeing with Kavanaugh's Dobbs vote. The article also records campaign criticism. It names Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson among the Dobbs dissenters, but the Court's opinion lists Justices Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Official statement
About this source
Collins says the Dobbs result conflicts with what the two justices said to her about long-standing precedent and describes legislative efforts to codify protections.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Reporters asked Collins about her confirmation vote after Kavanaugh joined the Dobbs majority.
After the quotation
She separately said she disagreed with his Dobbs vote and pointed to other justices she had supported. The Press Herald article says she meant Justices Sotomayor, Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, but the Court's opinion in Dobbs lists Justices Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan as the dissenters.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Directly defends the conduct under scrutiny, her 2018 confirmation vote, while expressing disagreement with the later Dobbs decision.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Brett Kavanaugh
More from this case
Read the full caseFried challenges Collins's argument about Kavanaugh's Dobbs vote
“Thus it was a five person majority without the Chief Justice that ended a federal right to abortion.”Read statement
Jackson asks whether Collins should be trusted to pick the next justice
“Would you trust her to pick the next Supreme Court justice?”Read statement
Troy Jackson says Collins's Kavanaugh vote shows she is not pro-choice
“Let's put this idea that Susan Collins is pro-choice, you know, completely behind us.”Read statement
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- The Dispute Index
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- Collins defends Kavanaugh confirmation vote
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- https://disputeindex.com/events/1285-collins-said-she-did-not-regret-voting-to
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Collins defends Kavanaugh confirmation vote". First published: 2026-09-21. Last updated: 2026-09-26. https://disputeindex.com/events/1285-collins-said-she-did-not-regret-voting-to