Senator Susan Collins is accusing President Trump of being "angry" about the long, drawn out impeachment fight that spanned over several months.
When Bangor Daily News interviewed Collins and asked if she felt as if the president was "emboldened after he was acquitted by the Senate, she said no, and that Trump “often acts in an impulsive manner.”
“I think the president was angered by impeachment and that is reflected in the personnel choices he made,” she said.
Just last week, President Trump was acquitted by the Senate after being impeached by the House over accusations of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Neither of which were true, and thankfully did not hold up in the Senate trial.
Since then, [Trump] has removed Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman from his National Security Council post and recalled former Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, both of whom testified as part of the House's impeachment inquiry.
He also publicly criticized a seven- to nine-year sentencing recommendation made by federal prosecutors for his associate Roger Stone and pulled the Treasury nomination of Jessie Liu, who worked on the Stone case.
Democrats have argued the actions are signs of Trump feeling emboldened after being acquitted by the Senate.
It sounds to me like he is just cleaning house, which makes complete and total sense.
"The president has been impeached. That's a pretty big lesson. I'm voting to acquit because I do not believe that the behavior alleged reaches the high bar in the constitution for overturning an election, and removing a duly elected president," Collins told CBS News.
She continued, "He was impeached. And there has been criticism by both Republican and Democratic senators of his call. I believe that he will be much more cautious in the future."
"It’s more that I hope that he’s listened to the many voices in the Senate who have pointed out that the call was very problematic," Collins added.