Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) announced Tuesday that he will oppose the nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to join the Supreme Court.

Voinovich said in a floor speech that while he “did not come to this decision lightly,” he felt that Kagan does not have the experience to serve on the high court. Kagan “does not meet the criteria for membership in the nation’s highest court. … I believe a judicial nominee must have substantial experience in the law,” he said.

Kagan has never been a federal appellate judge, unlike the incumbent justices. She has served as the dean of Harvard Law School and in the White House Counsel’s Office and Domestic Policy Council of the Clinton administration.

Voinovich also argued that Kagan has not been forthcoming on her legal philosophy and, lacking a deep paper trail, “we frankly don’t know what she will do.”

Voinovich was one of a handful of outstanding Republican votes — including Sens. Scott Brown (Mass.) and Kit Bond (Mo.) — that Democrats had hoped to pick up in support of Kagan’s nomination.

The Senate is expected to vote on the nomination by the end of the week.