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SUPREME COURT

Snowe to support Kagan

She joins Maine's other U.S. senator, Susan Collins

PORTLAND (AP) — Sen. Olympia Snowe is joining fellow Maine Republican Susan Collins in announcing that she would vote to confirm Elena Kagan as a Supreme Court justice.

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Snowe said Wednesday that Kagan met her standard for Supreme Court nominees with “strong intellect, respect for the rule of law, and understanding of the important but limited role of the Supreme Court.”

Kagan is President Barack Obama’s nominee to succeed retired Justice John Paul Stevens.

“After a careful and considered review of Elena Kagan’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, her overall record, and my personal meeting with her, I have concluded that (Elena) Kagan should be confirmed,” Snowe said in a statement issued from her Washington office.

By supporting Kagan, Snowe and Collins are breaking with their party.

Democrats have more than enough votes to confirm Kagan in a vote expected next week. But most Republicans plan to vote against Kagan, arguing that she would put her politics ahead of the law. She’s also drawn fire from anti-abortion and pro-gun rights groups.

Snowe said endorsements from conservative former solicitors general Ken Starr and Ted Olson and Assistant Solicitor General Miguel Estrada show that Kagan has a reputation for a sound judicial temperament. She also noted that Kagan testified that the Second Amendment right to bear arms is “settled law.”