Listen up:
As Democrats look for ways to slow down President Donald Trump's pick to fill a vacant seat on the Supreme Court, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., warned her colleagues on both sides of the aisle that the upcoming confirmation vote could be "career-ending" if it leads to the overturning of Roe v. Wade and other major precedents.
"My colleagues on both sides of the aisle know that this vote could be one of the key votes of their entire career," Cantwell said in an exclusive interview on NBC News' "Meet the Press" with Chuck Todd Sunday. "If they vote for somebody who's going to change precedent, it could be a career-ending move."
Trump has the chance to change the trajectory of the court after Justice Anthony Kennedy, the perennial swing vote, announced his retirement last week. During the 2016 campaign, Trump said he would appoint nominees who would overturn Roe v. Wade, an act that could make abortion illegal in a score of states.
With little recourse to stop Republicans or even slow the process, Democrats are
hoping to pressure pro-abortion rights Republicans like Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, to vote against any nominee that would threaten Roe v. Wade, the landmark abortion ruling.
Collins said Sunday on CNN that she would not support anyone who is against the Roe v. Wade ruling.
"I would not support a nominee who demonstrated hostility to Roe v. Wade because that would mean to me that their judicial philosophy did not include a respect for established decisions, established law," she said.
Cantwell said her party's strategy was to "speak out" about how a new conservative justice could fundamentally change the court. Trump is expected to announce his nominee July 9.
"This is a very different Supreme Court discussion, because everyone in the United States Senate who is going to go vote on this knows that it will change the balance of power," Cantwell said. "So you're not just voting on whether Trump should have his nominee, you're voting on whether that nominee is going to change precedent."
Cantwell is right and we have to keep up the pressure on the Senate to reject Trump’s nominee. Click here to contact your Senator.