Sen. Susan Collins: Opposed Obamas Amnesty Before Voting For It

Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) voted to fund President Obama’s executive amnesty during the lame-duck session contrary to her earlier statements. She was one of several Senators who had come out against the president’s actions, but then voted much differently.

These Senators, including Senator Collins had an opportunity to back up their rhetoric with action when Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) raised a “point of order” challenging the constitutionality of the president’s executive action while the Senate debated the 2015 spending bill.

While 21 other Senators stood up and voted with Senator Cruz, 28 Senators who had previously come out against executive amnesty voted in favor of fully funding it.

After the president announced his plan for executive amnesty, Senator Collins released the following statement:

The President has said previously that the best way to address this problem is legislatively and that he does not have the authority to act unilaterally. His actions are contradicting his previous statements. … I am extremely concerned that President Obama’s excessive use of executive orders to circumvent Congress is undermining our constitutional separation of powers doctrine. His unilateral action on such a significant issue is contrary to how our constitutional system is supposed to work.

For a full list of U.S. Senators who voted for and against the Senator Cruz’s point of order, see the roll call vote.