Defection? Susan Collins Says She’s ‘Open’ To Witnesses At Impeachment Trial, Criticizes McConnell

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), often a “wild card” for Republicans looking to keep their caucus together, told her home paper, the Maine Republic, that she’s on the fence about Sen. Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) proposal to include witness testimony in the Senate’s upcoming impeachment trial, and that she’s worried Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is abrogating his duty to be “impartial” as the head of the Senate impeachment process.

Collins rarely makes marshaling a majority of Republicans in the Senate easy, and she is often considered to be the easiest target for Democrat “compromises.” In fact, sources close to Schumer’s office named Collins as a clear target for his “wedge” proposal, since she is considered particularly receptive to messaging tying her directly to President Donald Trump.