Dem senator: Kavanaugh would ‘turn back the clock’ on women’s health care

Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin (Wis.) announced Thursday that she will oppose Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court over concerns that he would undercut the Affordable Care Act and a landmark abortion case.

“The President vowed to appoint judges to the Supreme Court who would overturn Roe v. Wade, and I cannot support a nominee for a lifetime appointment who would turn back the clock on a woman’s constitutional right and freedom to make her own health care choices, including access to birth control,” Baldwin said in a statement.

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Baldwin also opposed Justice Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s first Supreme Court nominee. But her decision to vote against Kavanaugh comes months before the November midterm election, where she’s running in a state Trump won in 2016.

Baldwin is considered to be one of the most liberal Democrats running for reelection this year in a state carried by the president.

The Senate GOP campaign arm immediately pounced on Baldwin’s opposition to Kavanaugh, accusing her of picking “Washington over Wisconsin.”

“Tammy Baldwin’s vow to obstruct Judge Kavanaugh shows that she’d rather stand with her Washington party bosses than do her job to defend the Constitution,” National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Calvin Moore said in a statement.

In addition to abortion, Baldwin also pointed to concerns about the fate of ObamaCare and protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions in explaining her opposition to Trump’s latest Supreme Court pick.

“The stakes are too high for the American people, who do not want the Supreme Court to advance a political agenda to overturn the law of the land on health care for people with pre-existing conditions, women’s reproductive health, and the constitutional rights and freedoms of all Americans,” she said.

In addition to Baldwin, Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) is also up for reelection and has said he will vote “no” on Kavanaugh. A slate of progressive senators and 2020 White House hopefuls, including Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), immediately announced their opposition after Kavanaugh’s nomination was announced this week.

Baldwin added on Thursday that she did not have “confidence” that Kavanaugh would stand up to special interests.

“After reviewing this nominee’s record, I know why powerful special interests in Washington selected Judge Brett Kavanaugh to work on the Supreme Court for them, not the people of Wisconsin,” she said.