Sen. Susan Collins believes President Trump is a less effective president than Richard Nixon was, even after Nixon’s presidency became marred in controversy.
Collins was a 20-year-old intern working in the office of Maine Republican Sen. Bill Cohen during the height of the Watergate Scandal. She acknowledged the impeachment proceedings against Richard Nixon did, at times, halt the work of the House and Senate, but not to the extent she feels the current chaotic state of affairs has frozen Republicans from pursuing any kind of agenda.
“It feels like everything is up in the air, everything is chaotic and there’s a lack of leadership coming from the White House. That’s what seems different. People forget that Richard Nixon, for example, created the EPA and there were all these accomplishments that occurred nonetheless,” Collins told MNSBC Thursday.
Collins described what she called a “sense of drift and distraction,” with little guidance coming from the Trump administration when it comes to what they would like to see accomplished.
“We don’t have an administration giving guidance on what they would like to see, other than very sketchy outlines. You don’t have the president using his bully pulpit,” Collins said.
The Maine senator said that many of her Republican colleagues are quietly relieved that Robert Mueller has been named as special counsel to investigate Russia’s influence on the 2016 election.
“I think everybody is relieved, whether openly or secretly, that Robert Mueller has been appointed,” she said. “Many of us know him, have worked with him. We know him to be the ideal choice for this job. He’s not going to have to take time to get up to speed. He has established relationships with the FBI agents. He knows the process. And he’s a person who is above reproach. So that’s exactly the kind of person that we need.”
