Maine's Susan Collins To Vote Yes For Biden Supreme Court Pick

WASHINGTON, DC — Republican Sen. Susan Collins will vote for Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court, making her the first Republican to publicly voice her support for President Joe Biden's pick, according to multiple reports.

After meeting with Jackson twice, Collins issued a statement saying there was "no question that (Jackson) is qualified to be a Supreme Court justice," The New York Times reported.

"In my meetings with Judge Jackson, we discussed in depth several issues that were raised in her hearing," Collins said. "Sometimes I agreed with her; sometimes I did not. And just as I have disagreed with some of her decisions to date, I have no doubt that, if Judge Jackson is confirmed, I will not agree with every vote that she casts as a Justice. That alone, however, is not disqualifying."

Her support gives Democrats at least a one-vote cushion in the 50-50 Senate and likely saves them from having to use Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote to confirm President Joe Biden's pick. It is expected that all 50 Democrats will support Jackson, though one notable moderate Democrat, Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, hasn’t yet said how she will vote.

Jackson, who would replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, would be the third Black justice, after Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas, and the sixth woman. She would also be the first former public defender on the court.

Collins was one of only three Republicans to vote in June for Jackson’s confirmation to her current seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Collins was the most likely Republican to support Jackson, and she has a history of voting for Supreme Court nominees picked by presidents of both parties. The only nominee she's voted against since her election in the mid-1990s is Justice Amy Coney Barrett in 2020.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.