Sen. Susan Collins is opposing President Donald Trump’s nominee to the second most powerful court in the country.
In a statement, the Maine Republican cited comments Justin Walker made at his investiture as a district judge, in which he addressed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s critics. In his remarks, Walker vowed to “not surrender while you wage war on our work.” Walker clerked for Kavanaugh when the justice was on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C Circuit.
“While Judge Walker is entitled to hold whatever personal views he chooses, his ideological comments on the very day he was formally installed as a federal judge … prevent me from supporting his elevation to the second highest court in the land,” Collins said.
Walker cleared a key procedural vote Wednesday to become a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C Circuit. Collins was the only Republican to join Democrats in opposing Walker.
The 38-year-old Walker is currently a district judge for the Western District of Kentucky. The Senate confirmed him for that role in October. Walker is widely viewed as a protege of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and also previously clerked for Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.
While Walker has been lauded by conservative legal scholars, Democrats have chastised the pick, deeming Walker unqualified and voicing concerns about his previous comments criticizing the Affordable Care Act.