Susan Collins may vote to repeal Trump’s emergency ‘to make up' for her Kavanaugh vote: Daily Beast columnist

The Daily Beast's Margaret Carlson told MSNBC on Friday that Democrats may pick up a few Republican Senate votes to repeal President Donald Trump's national emergency declaration, including Senator Susan Collins, who has a bit of wall-mending to do over her support for another controversial decision by the president.

"This is really going to be a test of spine for Republicans," said host Andrea Mitchell, which prompted a swift and tart response from Carlson.

"Given that they haven't done anything about separating children at the border and other things, you wonder if they'll show spine here," she said. "But they've spoken more loudly this time."

Carlson identified several Republicans who might vote with the Democrats, including Thom Tillis and Marco Rubio from the Armed Services Committee, and Lisa Murkowski, who Carlson said was "as independent as you get on the Hill." But it was Collins who got most of the reporter's attention.

"Susan Collins, who has a tough reelection fight, may want to make up for voting for Kavanaugh with this," she said. "She hasn't spoken, she's been asked since Kavanaugh voted to trim Roe v. Wade, whether she regrets that vote, since she said she was assured he would not do that. But she's moved back from her position of not being in favor of the national emergency."

Carlson and Mitchell agreed that the measure would be killed easily with a presidential veto, and that the Senate wouldn't vote to override.

"There are not two-thirds profiles in courage in the Senate," she said. "We know that."

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