Senate Republican Trump Opponents Congratulate Him on Victory
Senate Republicans are falling in line around their new party leader.
— -- In a public display of unity, Senate Republicans who expressed concerns about or outright opposed President-elect Donald Trump moved quickly to congratulate him the morning after the upset election.
At least a dozen of the chamber’s Republicans had disavowed Trump, some since the beginning of the Republican primary and others after he was heard in a 2005 video making comments about groping women.
But many of those same senators fell in line with their party’s new leader just hours after he delivered his victory speech in New York City.
One of the most vocal critics had been Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, who excused himself from his party’s convention by saying he had to mow his lawn. Flake took to Twitter Wednesday to offer reconciliation and a bit of self-deprecation.
A Flake spokesman told ABC News he voted for independent candidate Evan McMullin for president, who was available on the Arizona ballot as a write-in option.
Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, one of the earliest and most vocal opponents of Trump’s presidential bid, who called for Trump to step down and said he’d rather take his kids to “watch some dumpster fires” instead of attend the Republican National Convention, also offered his congratulations.
"On Tuesday, America demanded disruption. My family and I congratulate President-elect Trump on his decisive victory, and we pray that he will lead wisely and faithfully keep his oath to a Constitution of limited government,” Sasse said in a statement.
A spokesman did not return emails asking for whom Sasse voted.
Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, who also called for Trump to step down despite being on Trump’s short list for the Supreme Court, enumerated his own personal legislative priorities in his statement congratulating the next president.
“I congratulate President-elect Trump and look forward to helping him repeal Obamacare, return education to the states, reduce regulation, and confirm conservative judges,” Lee said. A Lee spokesman said he also voted for McMullin, a Utah native.
Susan Collins, a moderate Maine Republican who also opposed Trump from the beginning of the election, wrote in House Speaker Paul Ryan for president. But she too congratulated Trump on his victory and expressed a desire to be a partner in legislating.
“My hope is that President-elect Trump will focus on issues that unite us and that together we can usher in an era of accomplishment. I pledge to work with him in that effort."
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