Collins tells Fox News Roe would have fallen with or without Kavanaugh
Susan CollinsU.S. senator from Maine and Republican candidate for reelection, in a Fox News interview
Asked on Fox News whether her Kavanaugh vote was a problem for her after Roe was overturned, Collins said she disagreed with the Court's decision but that Roe would have been overturned whether or not Kavanaugh was confirmed, citing what she called a 6-3 vote. The vote to overturn Roe was 5-4; her campaign later said she misspoke.
Responding to
Collins's 2018 vote to confirm Kavanaugh remains justified despite his vote to overturn Roe and Casey in Dobbs.
“Whether Justice Kavanaugh were confirmed or not, Roe v. Wade would have been overturned, given the 6-3 vote”
Reporting
Other statements by Susan Collins in this case
- Collins denies Platner's accusation about her Kavanaugh voteEarlier: Denied
- Collins defends Kavanaugh confirmation voteEarlier: Defended or excused
- 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
Reporting
About this source
Bangor Daily News report on Collins's June 22, 2026 Fox News interview, in which she said Roe would have been overturned with or without Kavanaugh. The report notes that the Dobbs vote to overturn Roe was 5-4 and quotes her campaign's response.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The Fox News interviewer asked whether her vote for Kavanaugh was a problem for her now that Roe v. Wade had been overturned. Collins began by saying she disagreed with the Court's decision.
After the quotation
The Dobbs ruling overturned Roe 5-4; the 6-3 vote on the judgment upheld Mississippi's 15-week ban, with Chief Justice Roberts declining to overrule Roe. Collins spokesperson Blake Kernen told the Bangor Daily News that the senator misspoke.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is Collins's 2018 vote to confirm Kavanaugh and whether it remains justified after Dobbs. Here Collins acknowledges the concern by saying she disagreed with Dobbs, then argues her vote made no difference to the outcome. That downplays the consequences of the vote, so we used Minimized. Defended or excused is close, but in this answer she does not argue the vote was right; she argues it was not decisive. The quote is from the Bangor Daily News report, and we checked it against a broadcast clip of the interview.
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- People and groups discussed
- Brett Kavanaugh
More from this case
Read the full caseFried challenges Collins's argument about Kavanaugh's Dobbs vote
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Jackson asks whether Collins should be trusted to pick the next justice
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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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- Collins tells Fox News Roe would have fallen with or without Kavanaugh
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The Dispute Index. "Collins tells Fox News Roe would have fallen with or without Kavanaugh". First published: 2026-10-06. Last updated: 2026-10-06. https://disputeindex.com/events/4776-asked-on-fox-news-whether-her-kavanaugh-vote