For the past seven months, Sen. Susan Collins has tried desperately to thread the needle between condemning Donald Trump’s behavior and alienating her Republican colleagues.

She publicly announced that she would not support his bid for the presidency, but supports his controversial nominee for attorney general, Jeff Sessions. She voted in favor of the budget resolution that represented the first step in repealing the Affordable Care Act, then collaborated with Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy to offer a watered-down compromise. Some might say she has been successful in preserving her image as a moderate Republican.

But last Saturday’s historic protest marches in Washington, Portland, Augusta and hundreds of other cities and towns across the U.S. and around the globe have made it clear that the people will not be satisfied watching Sen. Collins sit on the fence for the duration of Trump’s presidency. It is time for Sen. Collins to decide whether she wants to continue to be associated with the Trump and tea party Republican Party, or whether she truly is a moderate.

Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees are among the most polarizing and underqualified people ever to be nominated for such important government positions. How Sen. Collins votes on these Cabinet nominees will tell the residents of Maine whether she has the courage of her convictions.

Show us what you are made of, Sen. Collins. Mainers will remember.

Heather Carlson-Lynch

Scarborough

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