Some of Collins’ other six Republican colleagues in the Senate who voted to condemn Trump, who was accused of inciting the January 6 uprising, faced reprimands from their state parties.
The Republican Party of Louisiana quickly censored Senator Bill Cassidy after his vote, and the Republican Party of North Carolina did the same with Senator Richard Burr a few days after his vote. In the House, the Wyoming Republican Party rebuked Republican House Representative No. 3, Liz Cheney, for voting for Trump’s impeachment.
The Alaskan GOP also recently censored Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) for her vote and asked that she no longer run as a Republican.
Among other Senate Republicans who voted to condemn Trump, Sens. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) were reprimanded by their state parties, but narrowly avoided censorship, while the Republican Party of Utah defended Utah Senator Mitt Romney vote.
Collins defended his decision, saying that Trump failed to keep his oath of office.
“His actions to interfere with the peaceful transition of power – the hallmark of our Constitution and our American democracy – have been an abuse of power and constitute a basis for condemnation,” Collins said in the Senate floor.
After a nearly double-digit reelection victory in November, Collins played a significant role in a divided Senate.
Trump, who still has broad support among Republican Party voters, targets Republican lawmakers in both chambers who voted to impeach or condemn him, reading the names of all Republican Party lawmakers who did so in his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February.
“Get rid of them all,” said Trump.
Republican National Congressional Committee chairman Tom Emmer warned Trump against trying to prioritize these Republican lawmakers, saying it would not be helpful.
“He can do whatever he wants,” said Emmer (R-Minn.) In an interview. “But I would tell him that it is probably better for us to keep these people and make sure that we have a majority that can be sustained in the future.”