Sen. King spoke well when he told his fellow senators, “This is a very dangerous moment. We’ve got to wake up.”

“It’s our responsibility to protect the Constitution,” King said. “But to … say, ‘Well, we’re going stand back and watch as this happens and the courts are going to take care of it,’ that’s an abdication of our responsibility.”

Sen. Collins said exactly that. She said she’d rely on the courts to settle whether the president must spend our taxpayer dollars as Congress directed.

She also justified her votes for Trump’s appointees by saying that she normally allows presidents to pick the people who will serve in their administration. But this is not a normal president. This is a man she voted to convict on a charge of impeachment four years ago. That’s when she said of Trump: “His actions to interfere with the peaceful transition of power — the hallmark of our Constitution and our American democracy — were an abuse of power and constitute grounds for conviction.”

Why would Collins give a man who abused his power four years ago his choice of leadership personnel now? For she has, with few exceptions.

I think Maine voters are asking questions like that. We’re watching her token “nay” votes and weighing them against all her “yea” votes. We’re watching what she’s doing, but also considering all of the other things she could be doing.

We’re wide awake now. And, we’ll remember this in 2026.

Tammy Mitman
Scarborough