Last night I received Sen. Collins’ weekly news update. The communication shared that the senator received an advocacy award from the Fraternal Order of Police, met with Head Start parent ambassadors and celebrated a local Maine songwriter.

While I’ve opened these emails for years, today I felt incredulity. With the guard rails of our country’s democracy being shattered, Sen. Collins writes as though life is normal. Civil servants are being fired for doing their jobs, government departments are being gutted, we’re cutting off congressionally approved life-saving programs abroad and have handed the keys to our American republic to an oligarch in Elon Musk.

I could go on, but among my greatest concerns is that Sen. Collins is supporting a leader whose policies are cruel. Whether in his treatment of transgender kids and service members, his attack on asylum seekers and individuals legally here through Temporary Protected Status or his illegal idea to send U.S. citizens to jails in El Salvador, President Trump shows no humanity.

Sen. Collins presents herself as a moderate Republican, and a compassionate one as presented in her newsletters. She claims to represent the best interests of all Mainers. How does she sleep at night with her collusion? We need and expect more from Sen. Collins.

Martha Leggat
North Yarmouth