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Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) changed her position and said that it wouldn’t hurt to provide an extra safeguard and pass a bill blocking Trump from firing Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Video:

Transcript of Collins on CNN’s State Of The Union:

Jake Tapper: There have been a number of bipartisan bills that would attempt to protect the special counsel from firing by the president and you said in December you haven’t seen the need for legislation protecting Mueller. Do you see the need now?

Sen. Collins: It probably wouldn’t hurt for us to pass one of those bills and I give Senator Tillis and Senator Coons great credit for coming up with the bipartisan bill and Senator Lindsay Graham and Booker have a different approach. There are some constitutional issues with those bills but it would certainly not hurt to put that extra safeguard in place given the latest stories, but again, I have faith in the deputy attorney general that he’s going to do what he told me he would do.

What the Collins shift means for Trump

The Collins flip is strong indication that if a bill to protect the Special Counsel was brought to the Senate floor for a vote, it stands a good chance of passing. The Tillis/Coons bill would allow the Special Counsel only to be fired by the most senior non-recused Justice Department official. The Graham/Booker bill is stronger in that it requires the attorney general to go before a three-judge panel, and the special counsel can only be removed if the panel finds, “misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest or other good cause.”

Both of these bills would make it much more difficult for Trump to fire Mueller, and it probable that steps are going to need to be taken to prevent the President from firing the special counsel that is investigating him and plunging the country into a constitutional crisis.

The Collins shift is a red flag for this White House. If they fire Mueller, the consequences will be dire.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

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Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association

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