I’m writing to point out Sen. Susan Collins’ inconsistency in two recent votes.
She allowed the nomination of Betsy DeVos for secretary of education to go forward to a floor vote out of respect for the Senate and its traditions and processes, which give all senators the right to consider, speak on and be part of the confirmation process.
Yet on Tuesday, Collins voted to uphold Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s decision to invoke a rule that Sen. Elizabeth Warren was not to be allowed to speak further regarding Jefferson Sessions’ nomination to be attorney general of the United States.
The reason McConnell gave was that by reading aloud a 1986 letter from Dr. Martin Luther King’s widow that pointed out and criticized Sessions’ prior actions, Warren showed disrespect for and impugned the integrity of a senator. But Sessions’ actions preceded his time in the Senate, and he was not being spoken of as a senator – rather, as a nominee for attorney general.
Upholding the rule showed disrespect for Elizabeth Warren and the traditions and processes of the Senate. I don’t know how Susan Collins squares her vote to silence a fellow senator with her espoused respect for the Senate, its traditions and processes.
Robert Stevens
Freeport
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