(CNSNews.com) – Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Tuesday that she met with President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee Judge Merrick Garland, and she is "more convinced than ever that the process should proceed" despite the GOP leadership's assertion that the next president should nominate the next Supreme Court justice.
"I've just concluded a more than hour-long meeting with Judge Garland. It was an excellent meeting that allowed us to explore many of the issues that I would raise with any nominee to the Supreme Court as well as some of the criticisms that have been levied against him. The meeting left me more convinced than ever that the process should proceed," Collins told reporters on Capitol Hill.
WASHINGTON – New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican fighting for re-election against her state's Democratic governor, became the latest GOP Senator to agree to meet with President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee, bucking the party leadership's stance.
Ayotte, a first-term senator from Nashua, has faced withering criticism from liberal advocates and Granite State Gov. Maggie Hassan for refusing to give Judge Merrick Garland a Senate hearing. On Monday, she announced a plan to meet with the jurist next week.
