Republicans take sides on Sotomayor nomination

By Bill Mears
CNN Supreme Court Producer

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Republican senators began lining up Friday on both sides of the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, a day after she concluded a strong showing at her confirmation hearings.

The 55-year-old federal appeals court judge was headed back to her New York City home, after four days of testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee produced no major obstacles to her becoming the 111th justice on the high court, and the first Latina.

Sources close to her said the judge was upbeat and relieved the grueling testimony was over, eager to have the process completed in the next few weeks. She plans to work in her Manhattan court chambers next week, and would not comment about the hearings or her prospects for confirmation.

Three GOP moderates were quick to throw their support behind Sotomayor, led by the party's senior senator, Richard Lugar of Indiana.

"Judge Sotomayor is clearly qualified to serve on the Supreme Court and she has demonstrated a judicial temperament during her week-long nomination hearing," he said in a statement, noting the nominee "has had a distinguished career of public service. She is well regarded in the legal community and by her peers."

Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe of Maine and Mel Martinez of Florida - the party's only Hispanic senator - also said they would vote for her.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell voiced his opposition to Sotomayor.

"Judge Sotomayor's record of written statements suggests an alarming lack of respect for the notion of equal justice, and therefore, in my view, an insufficient willingness to abide by the judicial oath," he said in remarks he planned to give on the Senate floor Monday. "This is particularly important when considering someone for the Supreme Court since, if she were confirmed, there would be no higher court to deter or prevent her from injecting into the law the various disconcerting principles that recur throughout her public statements.

Republican Sens. Robert Bennett of Utah and Jim Bunning of Kentucky also plan "no" votes.

–CNN's Ted Barrett and Peter Hamby contributed to this report.