Senator Ted Kennedy at Alito’s confirmation hearing

Senator Ted Kennedy listens during day 2 of the confirmation hearing for Judge Samuel Alito Jr., who was nominated by President George W. Bush to replace retiring Judge Sandra Day O'Connor. This was in Washington DC on January 10, 2006. This may have been the day in which Judge Alito claimed to respect stare decisis but tapdanced around the question of whether he considered Roe v. Wade settled law, thus allowing him to throw out Roe v. Wade the first chance he got in 2022. Senator Kennedy voted "nay" on Alito's confirmation, which still passed by a vote of 58-42.