Losing Hope as Susan Collins Spoke

On Friday morning, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said that she would declare later that afternoon whether she would confirm or oppose the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. For the women who opposed Kavanaugh, many of whom had traveled to Washington from all over the country, her decision was their last hope.

By 2:30 p.m., half an hour before she was due to announce her decision, Collins’ office on the fourth floor of the Dirksen Senate building was filled with protesters, most of them women, and members of the press.

The crowd was overflowing into the halls and stretching close to the entire length of the building. The women began quietly to sing the civil rights anthem “We Shall Overcome.”

When Collins began speaking in the Senate, they fell silent. A woman held a phone to her ear and relayed the remarks word for word to the crowd. Collins’ statement was hardly spontaneous. It was measured and deliberate. As it became clear that she was going to support the nomination, people began screaming at the television. “You’re done,” one woman shouted.

The Capitol Police began clearing the halls, arresting several people in the process. Everyone in the office remained, watching the television. Before Collins was finished, Capitol Police officers cleared the press from the room. As I was escorted down a long hallway out of the building, I could hear the disappointment behind me, and cheers ahead of me. On one level, I didn’t know what she had decided, but on another I knew and had known all along.

By the time I arrived in the grand, sunlit atrium of the Hart Senate Building where much of the opposition energy had been focused these past two weeks, the mood was entirely somber. Collins had just ended her nearly 45-minute statement with a vote to confirm Kavanaugh. The lines sung by the women outside Collins’ office still rang in my mind:

Outside, even with the outcome preordained, the protests continued.

As the sun set on Saturday, one woman from Denver, Jessica Campbell-Swanson, climbed atop a statue at the Supreme Court and stood in defiance. A large group marched to the top of the steps, past the iconic columns and slammed their fists on the towering bronze doors. Inside, Kavanaugh was sworn in and began his lifelong tenure on the nation’s highest court.