After Senator Susan Collins took a nearly month-long vacation, during which Maine communities faced daunting budgetary shortfalls while waiting for more federal relief, the Senate is finally reconvening today. But unfortunately for Maine people, their first order of business will not be much-needed coronavirus relief — instead, after leaving town for almost a month without securing any additional aid, Senator Collins will be voting on the nominations of five new Trump judges.
Since Trump took office, Collins has voted to confirm hundreds of his judicial nominees, including dozens of judges who opposed reproductive rights and every single one of his nominees in 2017 and 2018--even the ones rated “not qualified” by the American Bar Association. Now, in the middle of ongoing public health and economic crises, apparently Collins and her Republican colleagues in the Senate can’t think of anything more important to do than confirming more conservative judges to lifetime seats on the federal bench.
Senator Collins herself admitted that if her party couldn’t come to a deal on coronavirus relief, then “we have failed the American people.” But more than a month later, with no deal in sight to ensure Maine communities can continue to provide essential services through this crisis, Collins has returned to her regular routine of voting to confirm Trump judges.
“We’ve known for a long time that Senator Collins is a key co-conspirator in Trump and McConnell’s mission to take over the federal judiciary, but to see her prioritize confirming Trump’s judges over providing relief to Maine communities is a new low,” said Maine Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Marra. “We need our leaders to be focused on getting local officials the resources they need to make it through this pandemic, but instead Collins is spending her time supporting Donald Trump.”
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