Trump Officials Reportedly Manipulated Susan Collins Into Voting For Brett Kavanaugh, And Then Mocked Her as a ‘Cheap Date’

Officials in the Trump administration “conned” pro-choice Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) into voting to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, Rolling Stone reported.

Officials close to former President Donald Trump courted her crucial vote to confirm Kavanaugh in 2018. They simultaneously mocked her for being easily manipulated.

There was reportedly a notion among those close to the confirmation process the senator would not require much in the way of convincing. Rolling Stone reported Collins was viewed as an “easy mark” by the officials. The report states:

[Kavanaugh] had promised her in 2018 that [Roe v. Wade] was a matter of settled law — despite his deeply conservative track record on abortion.

Turns out, Collins wasn’t just wrong about Kavanaugh. She was deliberately manipulated by Trump administration officials — and a future Supreme Court Justice — who viewed her as an easy mark.

Two former senior Trump White House officials tell Rolling Stone that the pro-choice Collins wasn’t even considered a serious threat to the devoutly conservative Kavanaugh. Instead, the team predicted she’d need only a vague assurance that the nominee would uphold the half-century-old ruling defending abortion rights.

One of the outlet’s sources said the goal was for the Maine Republican, and other opponents to the conservative jurist, to hear whatever was needed to assuage their concerns on abortion.

“The thinking from Trump … and everybody else who worked to make this happen was that, as long as his nominees didn’t say anything stupid [on abortion] and let the Susan Collins-es of the world think what they needed to think and hear what they needed to hear, then it would get done,” a Trump insider told the magazine.

Amid speculation Collins might not vote to confirm Kavanaugh, administration officials reportedly mocked her as a “cheap date.”

Collins found herself under the microscope in May after a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion signaled Roe v. Wade might soon be overturned. Kavanaugh, per the document, was among five justices who support overturning abortion precedent.

Kavanaugh was confirmed in 2018 in the Senate 50-48 with Collins’ support. A spokeswoman for Collins told Rolling Stone referring to her as a “cheap date” was sexist.

“She considered the Kavanaugh nomination with a rigorous review process and an open mind,” said Annie Clark, “Any allegation to the contrary is false.”