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President Trump invited two of his biggest Senate Republican critics, Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), to the White House Thursday for an unspecified discussion. The invitation comes as impeachment hearings in the House continue. The House is widely expected to impeach Trump, which would create a trial in the Senate where Romney and Collins would be two of the most scrutinized GOP votes. Romney said before the meeting that he planned to talk about his own bill, the Trust Act, and the president’s plan for regulating vaping products. “If I’m asked for questions I want to talk...

With the confirmation of White House attorney Steven Menashi to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, another federal appeals court has a 'majority' of Republican-appointed judges. Menashi, whose nomination was vehemently opposed by Democrats and civil rights groups, was confirmed by the Senate, 51-41. Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins joined Democrats in opposing the 40-year-old's nomination. The 2nd Circuit now has seven judges tapped by Republican presidents and six named by Democrats. The 2nd Circuit is the second federal appeals court Trump has remade to have a majority of judges appointed by GOP presidents. In March, the president flipped...

The Senate on Thursday confirmed Steven Menashi to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, bringing an end to a confirmation battle that at times drew ire from members of both parties toward the judicial nominee. The Senate confirmed Menashi 51 to 41, largely along party lines. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, broke with her party to vote against the nominee. Menashi’s confirmation flips the Second Circuit to a majority of Republican appointees.

As of Friday afternoon, 50 of the Senate’s 53 Republicans had signed on to co-sponsor it. The three holdouts were exactly whom you’d expect: Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitt Romney. But their delay in joining the effort didn’t necessarily mean they’d ultimately refuse. Recall that the three retiring GOP members of the caucus, Lamar Alexander, Mike Enzi, and Johnny Isakson, also took longer than the rest to declare their support for the resolution. But in the end, all three did.Not Collins and Murkowski, though. They’re now on record: Count them out. Presumably the same goes for Mitt. Granted,...

Three Republican senators have yet to back a resolution to condemn House Democrats’ secret, closed-door impeachment inquiry practices. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Judiciary Committee Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduced a resolution Thursday night to condemn House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) secretive impeachment inquiry proceedings. Graham announced Friday that the resolution had gained 50 cosponsors across the Senate Republican conference; three senators have yet to cosponsor the resolution sign on. Sen. Johnny Isakson’s (R-GA) office told Breitbart News that the senator wants to ensure that the impeachment inquiry remains a “fair process.” The three Republican senators that have...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on Friday that all but three GOP senators had signed onto his resolution condemning the House impeachment inquiry. GOP Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Mitt Romney (Utah) have not yet signed onto the resolution, according to an updated list of co-sponsors shared by Graham the day after he introduced the measure. A spokesperson for Collins didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about whether or not she would back the resolution, which formally opposes the impeachment inquiry and urges House Democrats to hold an official vote on it. A spokeswoman for...

President Trump is barreling toward a showdown with Congress over his decision to pull back U.S. troops in northern Syria despite widespread opposition. The announcement, which caught leadership and traditional GOP allies flatfooted, sparked a wave of condemnation, with Republicans calling it a “disaster in the making,” a “catastrophic mistake” and a “terrible decision.” Lawmakers are already weighing how to respond to Trump’s decision, setting the stage for a high-profile clash with Trump as soon as Congress returns from a two-week break on Monday. “Congress must and will act to limit the catastrophic impact of this decision,” said Rep. Liz...

been as head-spinning as the social conservatives and evangelical Christians who now consider Mr. Trump a hero. Many of the conservative women who once saw him as a boor have come to believe that for too long they were focused on the wrong qualities in presidential candidates. They wanted someone pious when they should have been looking for someone who could throw punches. “I endorsed Rick Santorum in 2012. And Mike Huckabee,” said Penny Young Nance, who signed the statement in 2016 of anti-abortion activists opposing Mr. Trump. “But at the end of the day, I’m not sure those guys...

.@SenatorRomney is a good man who cares deeply for the country and the constitution.— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) October 5, 2019

WASHINGTON — In 2016, Erick Erickson could not have been clearer. Donald Trump was “a racist” and “a fascist.” It was no wonder, Mr. Erickson wrote, that “so many people with swastikas in their Twitter profile pics” supported him. “I will not vote for Donald Trump. Ever,” he insisted, adding his voice to the chorus of Never Trump Republicans. Last week, Mr. Erickson, a well-known conservative blogger, titled one of his pieces “I Support the President.” In three years, he had come completely around, a transformation that is a testament to President Trump’s remarkable consolidation of support inside the Republican...

I want to tell you, Matthew, that yesterday and today Senator Mitt Romney, Republican, Utah, had phone calls or meetings, whatever, with Pelosi and assured her there was Republican support to remove Trump. Romney is a Never Trumper, and, if he can, he will get rid of Trump. I don’t think that means that Romney has enough Republicans to actually convict. Romney is just staking a claim to a political position. Romney thinks it’s in his best political interests for everybody to think he hates Trump. That’s how he thinks he’s going to politically benefit, whatever his next ambitions are....

Romney: Well, I'll never be president, but I'm making damn sure I'm getting a John McCain funeral!

Donald Trump supporters in South Carolina sent a clear message to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Friday evening, flocking to her event’s venue and holding up signs to express their support of the president. Pelosi was featured as the keynote speaker at a South Carolina Democratic Party fundraising event at the Hyatt Regency in Greenville, South Carolina, on Friday. Trump supporters gathered outside of the event’s venue to express their support for the president. Videos show supporters shouting “Trump” and holding American flags, Trump-Pence 2020 banners, and homemade signs reading, “Impeach Pelosi”. Pelosi said on Friday that this is...

The Maine senator was unequivocal in her statements, which came after a firefighters memorial service in Augusta on Saturday morning, joining Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Ben Sasse, R-Nevada, in breaking rank with GOP support for the president. “I thought the president made a big mistake by asking China to get involved in investigating a political opponent,” Collins said. “It’s completely inappropriate.” The president’s comments came days after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, announced a formal impeachment probe into his attempt to solicit foreign help in an election, which is illegal and considered by many lawmakers to be a foundational threat...

In an appearance Wednesday on CBS-TV’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” Maine horror novelist Stephen King was sharply critical of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. King, who has frequently assailed Republican politicians including President Trump on Twitter, told Colbert that he wanted a senator with “a little bit more of a liberal bent.” “She claims to have a liberal bent. But really, that’s not true,” King said, clenching his fist in the air. Colbert held up a photo of a King tweet from a few days earlier that read, “Hey-hey, ho-ho, Susan Collins has got to go.”

>PORTLAND, Maine — Some labor unions that helped U.S. Sen. Susan Collins win in 2014 say it’s too early to decide whether they’ll support her again in 2020 as her Democratic opponents courted workers over the Labor Day weekend.  Collins, a Republican, was supported by several labor unions in her last re-election race. Her campaign touted the endorsements heavily, and they were notable because unions typically support Democrats, though her race was uncompetitive and she won with two-thirds of votes.  Things could be different in 2020. Collins’ seat is expected the subject of one of the most expensive Senate campaigns...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said this week that Republicans would push to repeal ObamaCare if they win back the House and President Trump is reelected in 2020. "If we can get the House back and keep our majority in the Senate, and President Trump wins reelection, I can promise you not only are we going to repeal ObamaCare, we're going to do it in a smart way where South Carolina will be the biggest winner," Graham said in an interview with a South Carolina radio station. "We've got to remind people that we're not for ObamaCare." Graham's repeal bill, introduced...

Lawmakers are returning to Congress on Monday following a racist series of tweets from President Donald Trump aimed at four Democratic lawmakers, and Republican leaders as well as rank-and-file members are feeling the pressure to weigh in on the President's comments. But many leaders in the party are so far not weighing in publicly -- including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. "If he issues a statement on this we'll be sure to forward," said McConnell spokesman David Popp in response to a question from CNN. While many Republican leaders in Congress have thus far not spoken out, some GOP members...

<p>U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) joined a bipartisan group of Senators in cosponsoring legislation introduced by Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Rob Portman (R-OH) to establish a new memorial to honor fallen journalists. The privately funded memorial would be constructed on federal lands within Washington, D.C., to honor journalists, photographers, and broadcasters who have been killed in the line of duty.</p>

Senators blocked an effort on Friday to restrict President Trump’s ability to go to war with Iran, handing a victory to Republicans and the White House. More than 40 have voted against the proposal from Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine (Va.) and Tom Udall (N.M.), which would block the president from using funding to carry out military action without congressional authorization. Though the vote remains open, the opposition blocks the proposal from getting the 60 yes votes it needed to be added as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). In a round of unusual procedural maneuvering, senators passed...