Sen. Hawley will not vote for SCOTUS justices unless they have publicly denounced Roe v. Wade decision

July 27, 2020 Amber Coakley US 0

FILE – In this June 16, 2020 file photo, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., speaks on on Capitol Hill, in Washington. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Pool via AP File)

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UPDATED 7:14 AM PT — Monday, July 27, 2020

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced a new criteria in which he will decide whether or not to vote in favor of future Supreme Court nominees.

In an interview Sunday, the Republican lawmaker said he will not vote to confirm any Supreme Court justice unless he or she has publicly recognized the 1973 case Roe v. Wade was improperly ruled on.

Hawley said this admission must be stated on the record before the nominee was ever recommended to serve in the nation’s highest court. The senator claimed he’s not looking to secure predictions on the judges’ potential rulings or to learn how the judge personally feels about the issue.

Instead, Hawley is purely seeking to know whether or not the judge believes the Roe decision was a mistake in terms of legality. The senator claimed he will hold this standard to every candidate, no matter if the judge is nominated by a Democrat or a Republican.

Hawley, who is now a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has been clear about his positions on Supreme Court nominees since before he was elected.

“We want a judge who will apply the Constitution as the people wrote it,” he stated.

Hawley believes the Roe ruling was “judicial imperialism.” This comes as several conservatives have increasingly expressed the need for more conservative justices after recent frustrations with the Roberts court.

Last month, the court ruled to strike down a Louisiana law that would have required abortion clinics to have admitting privileges to a nearby hospital. Chief Justice John Roberts, a Bush appointee who had voted in favor of a nearly identical Texas law in 2016, voted against the Louisiana statute.

Hawley said the White House is aware of his Supreme Court expectations. Some speculate President Trump may be granted another Supreme Court nominee this year.