Maine's two Republican U.S. senators stopped short of taking a position Tuesday on President Obama's nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

But U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins both voted to confirm Sotomayor to a seat on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals when President Bill Clinton nominated her in 1998.

Neither Snowe nor Collins serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will hold hearings on Sotomayor`s nomination before submitting her name to the Senate for a vote.

Obama said he wants a confirmation vote before a five-week Senate recess scheduled to begin Aug. 7.

In a written statement Tuesday, Snowe described Obama's nomination of Sotomayor, who would be the third woman and first Hispanic American on the court, as a ''historic selection.''

Snowe said White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel called her Tuesday morning to inform her of the nomination.

She said she had urged Obama to nominate a woman in a private meeting with the president earlier this month.

Snowe did not say whether she would support the nomination.

''As the process moves forward,'' she said, ''I will apply the same standards of review that I have in the past – that any Supreme Court nominee should bring a balanced approach to cases, possess a strong intellect and suitable judicial temperament, and follow a disciplined judicial methodology in reaching decisions.''

Collins said Sotomayor ''has a compelling life story and a long record of judicial service that will require careful consideration for this most important appointment.''

She said she looked forward to a timely, fair and civil confirmation process, but would not commit herself to supporting Sotomayor.

''As always in making my decisions on judicial appointees, I will evaluate the nominee's integrity, temperament, professional qualifications and accomplishments, and respect for the rule of law and precedents,'' Collins said in a written statement.

Sotomayor sits on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York. She was confirmed to that court in a 67-29 vote in the Senate 11 years ago.

Snowe and Collins are among the seven Republicans still serving who supported her confirmation.

The Maine senators both voted for President Bush's Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito in 2006, despite disagreement with him on the constitutional right to abortion, which the senators support.

In 2005, Snowe and Collins also voted for Bush nominee John Roberts, who raised concerns by refusing to take a position on abortion and other key issues during his Senate hearing.

Sotomayor is facing early criticism from conservative groups, who labeled her a ''judicial activist'' likely to try to make policy from the bench, rather than interpret laws passed by Congress.

Sotomayor's credentials will also be reviewed by a Portland attorney who serves on an American Bar Association's judicial nomination panel.

William J. Kayatta Jr., a partner in the firm Pierce Atwood, is one of 15 members of the association's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary.

The panel has received Sotomayor's nomination from the White House and has initiated a peer review.

Kayatta declined to comment on the process Tuesday and referred questions to the bar association.

The review panel is drawn from the 12 districts in the federal appeals court system. Kayatta represents the 1st District, which includes Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Puerto Rico.

Members of the panel will interview Sotomayor, study her legal writings and speak with other lawyers, judges and members of the community.

In the House of Representatives, which does not vote on the nomination, Maine's two Democratic members praised Obama's choice.

''Judge Sotomayor has the intelligence, the training and the experience to be an excellent Supreme Court justice,''...