Westbrook, MAINE - In response to Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy’s announcement today that he is retiring, Maine Democratic Party Chairman Phil Bartlett called on Maine Senator Susan Collins to oppose any extremist nominee in the wake of her recent history of confirming radical Trump judicial picks:

“Senator Collins has made a bad habit out of rubber-stamping President Trump’s extreme judicial nominees, many of whom hold anti-choice, anti-LGBTQ positions that she claims to support. That cannot and must not be her approach to this vacancy.

“Whoever fills this seat will hold tremendous power to impact millions of Americans and will decide the direction of the court for decades to come. With such critical values at stake, including the right for Americans to marry who they love and the right for women to have control over their own bodies and medical decisions, Senator Collins must demand a qualified, mainstream, consensus choice - and she must do everything in her power to reject anyone short of that standard."

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