Susan Collins Breaks With Trump, Becomes First GOP Senator To Side With Dems On Key Impeachment Issue
Well, that didn’t take long. The first GOP Senator has broken ranks and sided with the Democrats on a key issue in the impeachment trial.
“Senator Collins and others raised concerns about the 24 hours of opening statements in two days and the admission of the House transcript in the record,” Annie Clark, spokeswoman for Collins said in announcing her move.
“Her position has been that the trial should follow the Clinton model as much as possible. She thinks these changes are a significant improvement.”
Look, as long as the GOP stays together they control the entire impeachment trial. The Democrats have little power.
Remember, and this is very important, the ultimate outcome – Trump’s acquittal is a done deal – the rest is just for show.
This is a show meant to damage Trump politically. That is all this is. So far, it has backfired on the Democrats and it looks to continue to do so.
But if Susan Collins and Mitt Romney break rank, the whole trial could quickly devolve into chaos.
And while Trump will still win in the end the odds of political damage go up with each time these turncoats stab Trump in the back.
From The Hill:
Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) became the only GOP senator to break with her party during a marathon session over the rules for the Senate’s impeachment trial of President Trump.
Democrats forced a 10th amendment vote early Wednesday morning that would extend the amount of time House impeachment managers and Trump’s legal team have to respond to motions.
Currently, both sides can file motions around 9 a.m., including a potential motion to dismiss the charges against Trump. Under the rules, the opposing side would have to respond by 11 a.m. The amendment by Democrats would extend that time, giving them until Thursday to respond.
A spokeswoman for Collins didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about why she broke with her party and voted against tabling the amendment.
The early morning vote came after the first nine amendment votes failed, with senators voting along party lines to table the proposals from Democrats, including attempts to subpoena former national security adviser John Bolton and White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.