Trump blasts Susan Collins over SCOTUS amid reelection fight

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President Donald Trump on Friday attacked Maine Sen. Susan Collins over her stated opposition to Amy Coney Barrett's nomination to the Supreme Court, lashing out at one of the most vulnerable Senate Republicans less than three weeks before Election Day.

“There is a nasty rumor out there that @SenatorCollins of Maine will not be supporting our great United States Supreme Court Nominee,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Well, she didn’t support Healthcare or my opening up 5000 square miles of Ocean to Maine, so why should this be any different. Not worth the work!”

Despite the president's assertion, Collins' opposition to Barrett's nomination and confirmation is more than a rumor. In fact, the Maine senator argued last month that the vacancy should be filled by whoever wins the presidency on Nov. 3.

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski was the only other Republican senator to oppose moving forward with a confirmation vote before Election Day. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has nonetheless secured enough support from his GOP caucus to see that Barrett ascends to the Supreme Court.

The Senate Judiciary Committee conducted Barrett’s confirmation hearings this week, and the panel is scheduled to vote on her nomination next Thursday — setting the judge up to be confirmed by the full Senate chamber in a floor vote before Election Day.

Trump’s tweet targeting Collins comes as she is mired in what is likely the toughest political battle of her career. Democratic Maine state House speaker Sara Gideon has mounted a well-funded campaign to deny Collins a fifth term in the Senate and leads the incumbent lawmaker in the polls by an average of 4.2 percentage points, according to RealClearPolitics.

Gideon and outside political groups have worked to paint Collins, long considered one of the Senate's most moderate members, as an enabler of the president. Collins, in turn, has attempted to cast herself as independent from Trump and not beholden to the Republican Party.