- A group of GOP senators unsuccessfully tried to convince President Donald Trump not to fire Gordon Sondland, the ambassador to the European Union who testified in the impeachment inquiry.
- Trump disregarded the warnings and fired Sondland on Friday.
- Among the senators who sought to change his mind was Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who was recently mocked for voting to acquit Trump and saying she believed he had learned a lesson.
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A group of Republican senators unsuccessfully tried to persuade President Donald Trump not to fire Gordon Sondland, the ambassador to the European Union who testified in the House impeachment hearings in November, The New York Times reported Saturday.
Trump dismissed Sondland Friday, even though he had reportedly already been planning to leave his position.
But a number of GOP senators had feared the optics of Trump firing his own diplomatic official after the impeachment proceedings, according to The Times.
Among those who tried to stop Trump was Sen. Susan Collins, the Maine Republican who voted to acquit Trump on both articles of impeachment and endured widespread derision for saying she believed Trump had "learned from this case" and would be "much more cautious" going forward.
The Times reported that the other Republican senators who tried to warn Trump were Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Martha McSally of Arizona, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
The Times reported that the senators did not try to intervene in Trump's firing of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a top Ukraine expert at the National Security Council who also testified against the president in the impeachment hearings.
Trump also fired Vindman's twin brother, Yevgeny, a White House official who was not involved in the impeachment inquiry.
On Saturday, Trump took to Twitter to explain why he fired Vindman.
"Actually, I don't know him, never spoke to him, or met him (I don't believe!) but he was very insubordinate, reported contents of my 'perfect' calls incorrectly, & … was given a horrendous report by his superior, the man he reported to, who publicly stated that Vindman had problems with judgement, adhering to the chain of command and leaking information. In other words, 'OUT.'"
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