Susan Collins Announces She Will Vote to Acquit Trump, Calling Conduct ‘Wrong’

The Maine senator became the latest Republican to condemn President Trump’s conduct but argue it did not warrant his removal.

She said that Mr. Trump’s call to President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, in which he asked for an investigation of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., was “improper and demonstrated very poor judgment,” but said there had been “conflicting evidence in the record” about Mr. Trump’s motivations.

Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, said on Tuesday that she would vote to acquit President Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, calling his conduct “wrong” but saying she could not support removing him from office.

“I do not believe that the House has met its burden of showing that the president’s conduct, however flawed, warrants the extreme step of immediate removal from office,” Ms. Collins said in a speech from the Senate floor.

Ms. Collins, a moderate who is facing a steep re-election challenge this year, was one of only two Republicans to break with the party last week and vote in favor of considering new witnesses in Mr. Trump’s impeachment trial. But in announcing her vote on the verdict on Tuesday, she joined a growing chorus in her party who has argued that removing the president for his misconduct little more than nine months before he faces re-election was excessive.

“It is my judgment that except when extraordinary circumstances require a different result, we should entrust to the people the most fundamental decision of a democracy — namely who should lead their country,” Ms. Collins said.