Another red-state Democrat announced opposition Thursday to President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, narrowing the pool of swing votes who will decide Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s fate.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin Democrat, said she thinks Judge Kavanaugh is backed by “powerful special interests” — which she did not name — and said that made him unacceptable as a pick for the high court.
“The stakes are too high for the American people, who do not want the Supreme Court to advance a political agenda to overturn the law of the land on health care for people with pre-existing conditions, women’s reproductive health, and the constitutional rights and freedoms of all Americans,” the senator said in a press release.
She said she feared he embodies Mr. Trump’s campaign vow to pick justices who oppose the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, and also feared Judge Kavanaugh would be a deciding vote to erase the rest of Obamacare.
That claim has been punctured by fact-checkers who say the majority that upheld the Affordable Care Act remains intact even with the retirement of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, the man Judge Kavanaugh has been tapped to replace.
Ms. Baldwin also said she didn’t have confidence Judge Kavanaugh would be fair and impartial. She is one 10 Democratic senators up for reelection in November in states Mr. Trump won in 2016.
They are under intense pressure from both sides of the political spectrum. Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation would be virtually guaranteed if one or two Democrats announced their support.
Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, another state Mr. Trump won, has said he would vote against any pick Mr. Trump made to fill Justice Kennedy’s seat this year.
Most red-state Democrats up for election this year have said they’re keeping an open mind as they review Judge Kavanaugh’s record.
Only three Democratic senators supported Mr. Trump’s first Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch. They included Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.