Republicans know the abortion positions of the judges they robotically confirmed are a political loser
Exactly two (2) Republican Senators have been willing to comment on Matthew Kacsmaryk’s First Things blog asserting control over the Food and Drug Administration, and one of those comments has been in support:
Because this is precisely the ruling they wanted ― or, at least, the one they should have foreseen when they voted to confirm a staunch opponent of abortion rights to the federal bench.
They’re not about to say this out loud. They know how unpopular and out of step it is to celebrate more rollbacks of reproductive rights. They know that access to abortion medication has broad support. They know their party is getting clobbered in elections all over the country because of their attacks on abortion rights, particularly after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade last year.
So with Congress in recess for two weeks, Republican senators are hoping to get away with saying nothing at all.
But if you doubt they’re happy with the judge’s decision, look no further than their 2019 vote to confirm Kacsmaryk to his lifetime federal court seat. They knew he had a record of strongly opposing abortion rights. And every GOP senator but one, Susan Collins of Maine, voted for him.
“In 2019, I voted against Judge Kacsmaryk’s confirmation, and I disagree strongly with his decision in this case,” Collins said in a Monday statement. “Mifepristone is an FDA-approved drug that has been on the market for more than two decades and extensively studied.”
Collins is one of two self-described pro-choice Republican senators. The other one, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, voted for Kacsmaryk. She did not respond to a request for comment about his ruling targeting abortion medication.
Of the 49 Republicans in the Senate, Collins is also one of just two who have said anything about Kacsmaryk’s ruling. The other one, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), celebrated the decision on Twitter as a “victory for pregnant mothers & their unborn children.”
Sure, they have horrible substantive views, but at least they’re really chickenshit about it!
Time for another National Review thumbsucker wondering why Republican candidates in competitive elections don’t spend money publicizing their position on abortion.