Politics

FACT CHECK: Did Susan Collins Say She Is ‘Not Certain That Judge Amy Coney Barrett Is The Right Person To Replace Justice Ginsburg’?

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A post shared on Facebook claims Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins said, “At this time I’m not certain that Judge Amy Cony (sic) Barrett is the right person to replace Justice Ginsburg.”

Verdict: False

There is no record of Collins making this statement.

Fact Check:

Collins has expressed that she believes the vote to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg should be held after the Nov. 3 election , according to The New York Times. A post on Facebook claims Collins has also stated that she doubts if Barrett will be a good replacement for the late justice, who died on Sept. 18.

“At this time I’m not certain that Judge Amy Cony Barrett is the right person to replace Justice Ginsburg,” reads the quote attributed to her in the post. “I hope that my colleagues in the Judiciary Committee will be able to alleviate my doubts.”

However, there is no evidence that Collins ever made such a statement. The Daily Caller News Foundation found no news reporting to corroborate the alleged quote, and it does not appear on her verified Twitter account, @SenatorCollins. Nor is there any record of her making the statement in the congressional record.

Annie Clark, a spokesperson for Collins, confirmed in a phone call with the DCNF that the quote is fabricated. Clark also replied to several tweets sharing the statement on Oct. 12, informing social media users that the quote was fake.

“Incredible. 17,000 likes & 6,000 retweets for this fake quote,” one such tweet reads. “Thanks to all who asked about it’s authenticity before running with it.”

While the quote attributed to her in the Facebook post is fabricated, Collins has confirmed that she will vote against Barrett’s confirmation, stating that “It’s not a comment on [Barrett]. It is a comment on the process of rushing through a nomination in such a short time before a presidential election,” per local CBS affiliate WGME 13.