Trump's court pick thinks Roe v. Wade is settled law, swing vote Sen. Collins says

Brett Kavanaugh, U.S. Supreme Court associate justice nominee for U.S. President Donald Trump, right, and Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, smile during a meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018.

Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh thinks the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling on abortion rights is settled law. That's according to Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican senator from Maine who met for two hours with the judge on Tuesday.

Collins, who supports abortion rights, says she talked "at great length" with Kavanaugh about the application of established precedent to abortion cases. She says they also discussed executive power and his judicial philosophy, among other subjects.

Collins is considered a potential swing vote on Kavanaugh's nomination. She says she will not make a decision on how to vote until after the Senate Judiciary Committee holds confirmation hearings in early September.

Republicans hope to have Kavanaugh confirmed by the start of the court's next session, which starts Oct. 1.