Sen. Susan Collins on Sunday said she supported the establishment of an independent commission to probe the Jan. 6 insurrection and expressed optimism that Democrats’ House-passed bill to do so could make it through the Senate with some modifications.

Appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” the Maine Republican said she was confident that if lawmakers could agree on the commission wrapping up its work by the end of the year and ensuring that its staffing was bipartisan, the bill could pass the Senate. Many Senate Republicans, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, came out against the creation of the commission, and POLITICO reported last week that there was little chance Republicans would agree to even open debate on the bill, which passed the House with 35 Republican “yes” votes.

“I strongly support the creation of an independent commission,” Collins said. “I believe there are many unanswered questions about the attacks on the Capitol on Jan. 6.”

Moderate Republicans such as Collins and Utah Sen. Mitt Romney have signaled openness to the bill if it were amended. Both of those lawmakers were among the seven Republican senators who voted in favor of convicting former President Donald Trump during his second impeachment trial for inciting the insurrection. He was acquitted.

Democrats need 10 Republican votes to overcome a filibuster, and winning over the backing of Collins, one of the key swing votes in the evenly divided chamber, could be essential.

Collins said Sunday that her optimism about resolving the two issues was informed by conversations she has had with Democratic leadership.

The Republican Party has strayed from the principles that Sen. Mitt Romney once knew it for, he lamented on Sunday.

Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union,” the Utah Republican and past GOP presidential nominee said his party has taken a “different course” from its embrace of free trade, concerns about government spending and hawkishness on Russia.

Instead, he said, it has pivoted toward emulating President Donald Trump.

“The party that I knew is one that was very concerned about Russia and [Vladimir] Putin and Kim Jong Un and North Korea, and we pushed back aggressively against them,” Romney said. “We were a party concerned about balancing the budget.”

Romney, now a persistent critic of Trump, has often been alone among Republicans to in his criticism, most notably when he voted to convict Trump on one of the impeachment charges against him. Trump, impeached by the House late year, was acquitted by the Senate.

Romney had been the target of Trump attacks previously, but his vote gave the president an opening for many more broadsides.

Romney, now a persistent critic of Trump, has often been alone among Republicans in his criticism, most notably when he voted to convict Trump on one of the impeachment charges against him. Trump, impeached by the House earlier this year, was acquitted by the Senate.

Afterward, Romney has been the target of myriad Trump broadsides.

On Sunday, the Utah senator characterized the GOP he once knew as one that placed importance on the character of its leaders. Now, he said, he represents a small slice of the party.

“We’ve strayed from that. I don't see us returning to that for a long time,” Romney lamented. “As I look at the 2024 [GOP presidential] contenders, most of them are trying to become as much like Donald Trump as they can be.”

Asked by host Jake Tapper whether he’s considered leaving the party in protest, as retiring Michigan GOP Rep. Paul Mitchell did this month, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee said he planned to remain and affect change from within.

“I think, ultimately, the Republican Party will return to the roots that have been formed over — well, the century,” he said. “So, we’ll get back at some point and, hopefully, people will recognize we need to take a different course than the one we are on right now.”