Sen. Lisa Murkowski met with Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett this week but remains opposed to an election year confirmation to the high court.
While the Alaska Republican wouldn’t say explicitly that she will vote against Barrett, she did affirm her belief that now is the wrong time for a confirmation.
“I’ve shared for a while that I didn’t think we should be taking this up until after the election, and I haven’t changed,” Murkowski said.
Asked if that means she’s a ‘no’ on Barrett’s votes that begin on Sunday, she replied: “That means I haven’t changed my mind on that.”
Murkowski is essentially the only undecided Republican at this point on Barrett’s nomination. Fellow moderate GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is a ‘no;’ the rest of the party’s 51 members will back the conservative judge. Only a simple majority is needed to confirm a Supreme Court nominee.
If Murkowski votes ‘no,’ she’s likely to spark a new wave of attacks from President Donald Trump, similar to when she voted against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Already Trump has attacked Collins, who is in the middle a tough re-election fight.
Murkowski is up for re-election in 2022 and has shown durability among her independent-minded Alaska voters, as her party turns right. She lost her primary in 2010 but kept her seat through a write-in campaign.