Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said she does not regret her vote to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The statement arrives as the political climate in Maine intensifies, highlighting the tension between judicial qualifications and the subsequent legal rulings that have reshaped reproductive rights.
Collins spoke during June 2026, which marks the four-year anniversary of the June 2022 decision that overturned Roe v. Wade [1]. While she expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome of that ruling, she maintained that her original confirmation vote was based on the Justice's professional credentials.
"I do not regret confirming Justice Brett Kavanaugh," Collins said [2].
She further clarified her position by addressing the conflict between her vote and the resulting legal precedent. "I am disappointed that he helped overturn Roe v. Wade, but my vote was based on his qualifications," Collins said [3].
These comments have drawn a sharp response from the campaign of Democratic candidate Graham Platner. Morris Katz, an adviser to Platner, criticized the Senator's stance in a new advertisement. Katz said that the decision to confirm Kavanaugh had direct consequences for the legal status of abortion in the U.S.
"Collins' vote was a mistake that cost women their rights," Katz said [4].
The exchange underscores a recurring point of contention for Collins, who has often positioned herself as a moderate. By reaffirming her support for Kavanaugh despite the fall of Roe v. Wade, she continues to navigate the gap between her judicial standards and the expectations of voters concerned with reproductive healthcare access.
Collins has consistently argued that her confirmation decisions are based on the individual qualifications of the nominees at the time of their hearings, a position that continues to clash with critics who view those decisions through the lens of the resulting judicial outcomes.
“"I do not regret confirming Justice Brett Kavanaugh."”
This clash illustrates the difficulty moderate Republicans face when reconciling their adherence to judicial process with the political fallout of conservative court rulings. By refusing to express regret, Collins is signaling a commitment to her original judicial reasoning, even as her opponent uses the four-year anniversary of the Roe reversal to frame that reasoning as a failure of judgment.
