Allegedly Pro-Choice Susan Collins Confirms Yet Another Anti-Abortion Judge to Lifetime Seat

"On October 9, Collins provided the 50th vote to confirm Jennifer Mascott to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears disputes from courts in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The Senate confirmed Mascott 50 to 47, with the only other purported pro-choice GOP Senator, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, voting against her. The confirmation cemented a conservative majority on the 14-member court, with eight judges appointed by Republicans, including six nominated by Trump. (One of those six is Trump henchman Emil Bove.)"

"This seat on the Third Circuit is traditionally reserved for judges from Delaware, but Mascott lives in Maryland and is not licensed to practice law in Delaware, which is the site of many corporate and bankruptcy cases. Her only reported connection to the state is a beach house. Mascott, a former law professor at Catholic University, is deeply conservative, having clerked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and for then-appeals court judge Brett Kavanaugh."

"She also joined Trump 2.0 earlier this year by taking a job in the White House Counsel's office. Mascott has praised the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, after saying that Roe belonged in "the dustbin of history." In late 2021, while speaking at a Senate hearing, she also defended the court's decision not to strike down the Texas bounty hunter abortion ban that nullified Roe."

Senator Susan Collins cast the decisive 50th vote on October 9 to confirm Jennifer Mascott to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals; the Senate approved Mascott 50 to 47. The confirmation created a conservative majority on the 14-member court, with eight Republican-appointed judges, including six Trump nominees. The seat is traditionally reserved for Delaware judges, but Mascott lives in Maryland, is not licensed in Delaware, and has only a reported beach house connection to the state. Mascott clerked for Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh, worked at the Justice Department and in the White House Counsel’s office, praised Dobbs and said Roe belonged in "the dustbin of history," and defended the court’s refusal to strike down the Texas bounty hunter abortion ban. Collins claims to be pro-choice and faces abysmal polling ahead of a potential reelection battle.

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