U.S. Sen. Angus King thinks President Donald Trump and his actions have put America in “one the most dangerous places” since its founding, and he has used media appearances, podcasts and speeches in the past month to sound the alarm.
Those dire warnings have come in recent appearances with journalist Katie Couric and historian Heather Cox Richardson, culminating in a Tuesday floor speech that echoed Maine Sen. Margaret Chase Smith’s “Declaration of Conscience” address from 1950. King told Richardson the country is witnessing the “collapse of the constitutional structure.”
But King, who is 81 and won a third term last November, reiterated Wednesday in an interview with the Bangor Daily News that he and Democrats “don’t have the votes” to force changes and that Republicans who control the Senate by a 53-47 margin must act as well, avoiding direct criticism of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins.
Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
What do you hope to accomplish with everything you’ve said recently?
King: What I’m hoping to accomplish is to alert the country, but particularly my colleagues in the Senate, that this isn’t normal, that this isn’t a normal time, that this isn’t politics as usual. It’s not Democrats and Republicans.
We have so much news coming at us every day about tariffs or deportations or El Salvador or whatever else that we’re losing sight of the fact that something more deep and, I believe, dangerous is going on, which is essentially the accumulation of power in the hands of the executive, which is exactly what the framers of the Constitution tried to prevent.
The hard part is to break through the idea that this just isn’t another political tactic to somehow undermine the president. I don’t care if the president is the Archangel Gabriel. This is just dangerous stuff, and history tells us, whoever the president is, if all power resides in the executive to make the laws, to decide what the laws are and to decide which laws of Congress he’s going to ignore or enforce, that ultimately will be very dangerous for everybody in the country, even the people who now agree with what he’s doing.
The point I’m trying to make is: It’s not about what he’s doing, it’s how he’s doing it. History tells us that’s dangerous for freedom.
You’ve acknowledged there are some limits to what you can do, but what has been your latest thought if somebody asks, “What is going to change things from your position?”
King: I get a lot of mail and people saying, “Why don’t you stop it?” The problem is, it sounds like a cop out, but it’s just the reality. I don’t have the votes.
For something to change, a dozen or so of my Republican colleagues have to decide that they’re going to step up and say, “We may agree with the agenda, but we don’t like the circumventing of the Constitution, and we’re going to not move things that you want until this stops.” That’s where the power is. I mean, that’s just the reality.
So most of my speeches are really directed at them, to remind them of what their oath to the Constitution is all about and that this is a constitutional challenge, the likes of which we’ve never seen before.
The old saying is, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” And history tells us that. The Framers, the last thing they wanted was to create a monarchy, and they gave very limited powers to the executive. Article II of the Constitution is very limited. It’s very short. It doesn’t grant the president broad powers. It certainly doesn’t grant the president the power to decide which laws he’s going to obey and which he isn’t and which appropriations he’s going to spend money on which he isn’t, and that’s what’s happening.
What is Sen. Collins’ role in all of this? You’ve mentioned your Republican colleagues needing to act.
King: I think she has an important role, and in fact, she has stepped out on a number of issues. She voted against several of the [Cabinet] members that I think weren’t qualified. She’s also a cosponsor of a bipartisan bill on bringing the tariff policy back into the Congress, where the Constitution places it.
I think she has an important role to play. She’s very well respected, and I think she’s one of the people who I think could be responsive to the emergency that we’re in.
If you think Trump is posing such a threat right now, then why support or vote for anyone working under him, such as certain nominees?
King: I’ve probably voted against about 65 or 70 percent of his nominees, but some of them are capable people who I have interviewed, talked with personally, and I believe they will equip themselves in a positive way. I try to take them one at a time, and also, I have to be cognizant of what role these people might have in things that are important to Maine.
It sort of underlines my position that what I’m sounding the alarm about is not political, and it’s not about Donald Trump. It’s about what’s happening to our Constitution. If I were just anti-Trump under all circumstances, I would have voted against all of this nominees, but I just don’t think that’s the responsible use of the advise and consent rules that are in the Constitution.
What we have, this democratic system, checks and balances, limited authority to the president, is very unusual in world history. The norm for thousands of years is pharaohs, czars, emperors, presidents for life, kings, monarchs of one kind or another.
What we have is very unusual, and it’s fragile, and we have to realize that we’re swimming against the historic tide by trying to maintain the system of separated powers and liberty for our citizens, and it’s not something we should take for granted. Right now, I think it’s under threat.
