AUGUSTA, Maine — U.S. Sen. Susan Collins was among seven Republican senators who did not sign a legal brief submitted in support of former President Donald Trump’s appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court to stay on the Colorado primary ballot.
The brief backs Trump in his fight to remain on the March 5 presidential primary ballot after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled in December he is ineligible due to inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol and thus engaging in insurrection in violation of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The high court agreed to hear the case and has scheduled oral arguments for Feb. 8. It also has implications for Maine, which is the only other state to deem Trump ineligible for the ballot after a December ruling from Secretary of State Shenna Bellows. The Democrat’s decision was put on hold by a Maine court on Wednesday pending the high court’s ruling.
Collins was one of seven GOP senators and 80 House Republicans to not sign the brief. Her office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday on her reasoning.
While Collins falls in the center of her caucus, several Trump-backing firebrands were among those who also did not sign the brief, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Matt Gaetz of Florida and Lauren Boebert of Colorado. A spokesperson for Gaetz, however, reportedly said he is “fully supportive of the amicus brief and offered to sign on.”
The amicus brief signed by 179 Republicans in Congress — 42 senators and 137 representatives — said the elected officials “have a strong interest in ensuring that the rules for eligibility for federal office are clear, objective, and neutral, rather than malleable and conveniently applied to ensnare political opponents.” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, led the brief.
Collins is also one of the few Republican senators to vote to convict Trump in 2021 during his second impeachment trial over his role in stoking the Jan. 6 riots after voting to acquit him during his 2020 impeachment trial tied to pressuring Ukraine to investigate his rivals.
She has said she will not support Trump in the nominating race nor vote for him in November. However, Collins criticized Bellows after her decision, saying voters “should decide who wins an election.” Bellows unsuccessfully ran against Collins in the 2014 election.
