Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins are already in the searing spotlight for the role they'll play in voting to confirm the next Supreme Court nominee, The New York Times reports.
Justice Anthony Kennedy just announced his retirement Wednesday, and a nominee won't get named until, ostensibly, July 9.
But the rancor is already at fever pitch for the two moderate Republican pro-choice senators whose votes will be crucial to the future of abortion rights and the fate of President Donald Trump's nominee to replace Kennedy, certain to be a pro-life jurist.
And with Sen. John McCain absent due to his fight with cancer, just one "nay" vote from either Collins or Murkowski would sink the nomination; nary a Democrat will vote for a conservative on Trump's reported short list.
"This is a legacy vote. Very few people in the Senate, even those who’ve been here for a long time, will cast a more important vote than this," Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy told the Times.
Already the pair have met with Trump about the Supreme Court vacancy; Collins has had a private call with White House counsel Don McGahn about the nomination; Murkowski already has had a private meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Politico reported.
Further, Politico reported that both Collins and Murkowski suggested to Trump that he expand his list of nominees to those not quite so conservative.
"No matter how I vote there are going to be people who are furious at me," Collins told Politico. This is a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land. It matters."
"There’s pressure because of the gravity of such a nomination," Murkowski told Politico.
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