Susan Collins
Susan Collins | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States Senator from Maine | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office January 3, 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | William Cohen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Susan Margaret Collins December 7, 1952 Caribou, Maine, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Party | Republican | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse |
Thomas Daffron (m. 2012) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parents |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives | Samuel Collins (uncle) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | St. Lawrence University (BA) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | Senate website Campaign website | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Susan Margaret Collins (born December 7, 1952) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator for Maine since 1997. A member of the Republican Party, she is Maine's longest-serving member of Congress and the longest-serving Republican woman in the Senate. Collins has chaired the Senate Appropriations Committee since 2025.
Born in Caribou, Maine, Collins is a graduate of St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. Beginning her career as a staff assistant for Senator William Cohen in 1975, she became staff director of the Oversight of Government Management Subcommittee of the Committee on Governmental Affairs[1] in 1981. Governor John R. McKernan Jr. then appointed her commissioner of the Maine Department of Professional and Financial Regulation in 1987. In 1992 President George H. W. Bush appointed her director of the Small Business Administration's regional office in Boston. Collins became a deputy state treasurer in the office of the treasurer and receiver-general of Massachusetts in 1993.[2] After moving back to Maine in 1994, she became the Republican nominee for governor of Maine in the 1994 general election. She was the first female major-party nominee for the post, finishing third in a four-way race with 23% of the vote. After her bid, she became the founding director of the Center for Family Business at Husson University in Bangor, Maine.
Collins was first elected to the Senate in 1996 and has been reelected every six years since. She chaired the Senate Special Committee on Aging from 2015 to 2021 and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs from 2003 to 2007. Collins is the dean of Maine's congressional delegation, and was the only New England Republican in the 116th, 117th, 118th, and 119th Congresses. Along with Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania, Collins is one of only two Republicans to represent a Northeastern state in the Senate.[3][4] Collins is the longest-serving Republican woman in the Senate,[5][6] and since 2019, the only Republican holding statewide office in Maine.
Generally seen as a moderate Republican, Collins is often a pivotal vote in the Senate.[7][8] She was one of three Republicans to vote against a partial repeal of the Affordable Care Act. She was the sole Republican to vote against confirming Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court and one of three to vote to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson.
As a pro-choice Republican, Collins drew scrutiny for her vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, who joined the majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade.[9][10] In 2021, Collins became the longest-serving Republican female senator in history, surpassing Margaret Chase Smith, who held the same Senate seat. In procedural issues, she has maintained her support for the 60-vote Senate threshold, arguing for bipartisan compromise and preserving the filibuster.
During the impeachment trial of Bill Clinton, Collins was one of the few Republican senators who voted to acquit him on both charges. During the first impeachment trial of Donald Trump, Collins joined most other Senate Republicans in voting to acquit on both charges. In his second impeachment trial, she was one of seven Republicans to vote to convict Trump of incitement of insurrection.
Early life and education
| ||
|---|---|---|
|
U.S. Senator from Maine
 |
||
.jpg)
One of six children, Collins was born in Caribou, Maine, where her family operates a lumber business established by her great-great-great-grandfather, Samuel W. Collins, in 1844.[11] Her parents, Patricia (née McGuigan) and Donald Collins (1925–2018), each served as mayor of Caribou.[11] Her father, a decorated veteran of World War II, also served in the Maine legislature, with one term in the House, and four in the Senate.[12][13] Her uncle, Samuel W. Collins Jr., sat on the Maine Supreme Judicial Court from 1988 to 1994 and served in the Maine Senate from 1973 to 1984.[14] Her family owns S. W. Collins, a lumberyard and hardware store chain in northern Maine; her brother Samuel serves as president of S. W. Collins.[15]
Collins attended Caribou High School, where she was president of the student council.[16] During her senior year of high school in 1971, she was chosen to participate in the U.S. Senate Youth Program, through which she visited Washington, D.C., for the first time and had a two-hour conversation with Maine's first female United States Senator, Margaret Chase Smith, also a Republican. Collins is the first program delegate elected to the Senate and holds the seat once held by Smith.[16] After graduating from high school, she continued her education at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York.[17] Like her father, she was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa national academic honor society. She graduated from St. Lawrence magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in government in 1975.[18]
Early political career
Following graduation, Collins worked as a legislative assistant to U.S. Representative and later U.S. Senator William Cohen from 1975 to 1987.[17] She was staff director of the Oversight of Government Management Subcommittee on the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs from 1981 to 1987.[17]
In 1987, Collins joined the cabinet of Governor John R. McKernan Jr. as Commissioner of the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation.[18] President George H. W. Bush appointed her the New England regional director for the Small Business Administration in 1992.[13] After briefly serving in this post until the 1992 presidential election, which Bill Clinton won, she moved to Massachusetts and became Deputy State Treasurer of Massachusetts under Joe Malone in 1993.[17]
Returning to Maine, Collins won an eight-way Republican primary in the 1994 gubernatorial election, becoming the first woman nominated by a major party for governor of Maine.[13] Collins had considered leaving the crowded gubernatorial race to seek election to Maine's 2nd congressional district, with incumbent Republican Olympia Snowe seeking election to the U.S. Senate,[19] but ultimately chose to stay in the gubernatorial race. During the campaign, she received little support from Republican leaders and was criticized by conservative groups for her more liberal views on social issues. She lost the general election, receiving 23% of the vote and placing third behind Democrat Joseph E. Brennan and the winner, independent candidate Angus King.[20]
In December 1994, Collins became the founding executive director of the Richard E. Dyke Center for Family Business at Husson College.[18] She served in this post until 1996, when she announced her candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by her former boss, William Cohen, who retired to become United States Secretary of Defense under President Bill Clinton. With Cohen's public endorsement, she won a difficult four-way primary and faced Brennan in the general election, a partial rematch of the 1994 gubernatorial race. She defeated Brennan, 49% to 44%.[21][22]
U.S. Senate
Elections
Collins was elected to the Senate in 1996. During the campaign she pledged that, if elected, she would serve only two terms.[23]
Collins was reelected in 2002 over State Senator Chellie Pingree, 58.4% to 41.6%, in 2008 over Representative Tom Allen, 61.5% to 38.5%, and in 2014 over Shenna Bellows, 68.5% to 31.5%. In each of those campaigns, she carried every county in Maine.[24]
In 2020, Collins was challenged by Democratic State House Speaker Sara Gideon. The hotly contested race became the most expensive in Maine history, with Collins spending $23 million and Gideon nearly $48 million.[25] The race also had national implications, as defeating Collins was a key part of the Democrats' strategy to achieve a Senate majority. Despite trailing Gideon in every public poll of the race,[26] Collins defeated Gideon[27] by a decisive margin.[28]
In 2009, Collins was called one of "the last survivors of a once common species of moderate Northeastern Republican".[14] She is considered a centrist Republican and an influential player in the Senate.[29][30][31]
Although she shared a centrist ideology with Maine's former senator, Olympia Snowe, Collins is considered a "half-turn more conservative" than Snowe.[14] She was consistently endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign, a major LGBT rights organization, until 2020.[32] She supported John McCain in the 2008 presidential election. She became the state's senior senator in 2013 when Snowe left the Senate and was replaced by independent Angus King, who defeated Collins in the 1994 governor election.[33]
2026 election campaign
In the 2026 election, Collins was set to face Democratic nominee Graham Platner after he won the primary,[34][35] but on July 7, Politico published an article in which Platner was accused of rape by a former girlfriend; this resulted in the withdrawal of numerous endorsements,[36][37] and although he denied the allegation, Platner withdrew from the race on July 10.[38] The state Democrats nominated Troy Jackson, a former President of the Maine Senate, to replace Platner on the ballot.[39]
Between January 2025 and May 2026, almost 100 out-of-state billionaires and their spouses donated almost $10 million, a third of all donations, to Collins's campaign and Political action committees supporting her election. Around $9 million went to Pine Tree Results PAC, a Super PAC whose donors are wealthy individuals, corporations, and dark money nonprofit organizations.[40][41]
Tenure
First term
In the 1990s, Collins played an important role during the Senate's impeachment trial of Bill Clinton when she and Snowe sponsored a motion that would have allowed the Senate to vote separately on the charges and the sentence.[42][43] The motion failed, and Snowe and Collins voted to acquit, believing that while Clinton had committed perjury, that was not grounds for removal from office.[44]
In 1997, the Senate adopted a broader investigation into White House and congressional campaign fund-raising practices than Senate Republicans initially wanted. Collins said there were "a number of allegations that may or may not be illegal, but they may be improper."[45]
In 2001, Collins authored a measure that granted the United States Secretary of Education authority to grant waivers that would relieve reservists and members of the National Guard from making federal student loan payments during active duty and grant the same privileges to victims and families of those affected by the September 11 attacks. The bill passed the Senate and House in December 2001.[46]
In 2002, the Senate overwhelmingly approved the creation of the Department of Homeland Security while a Democratic effort to remove the bill's provisions fell short on a 52-to-47 vote that came after President George W. Bush lobbied against the vote. Collins and other senators said that Senate and House Republicans, as well as the White House, had given them an "ironclad promise" to essentially rescind provisions in the first spending bill to pass Congress the following year.[47]
Second term
In 2004, Collins was one of the primary sponsors of legislation overhauling the U.S. intelligence community by creating a new post, Director of National Intelligence, to oversee budgets and most assets of the spy agencies, and mandating that federal agencies establish minimum standards for states pertaining to issuing driver's licenses and birth certificates along with directing the United States Department of Homeland Security to form standards for ID used to board airplanes. The bill passed in the House and Senate in December. Collins said, "This was the most difficult bill to bring from conception to birth that I can imagine being involved with. But that makes the victory doubly satisfying."[48] Bush signed the bill, formally known as the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, on December 17, 2004.[49]
In May 2005, Collins was one of 14 senators (seven Democrats and seven Republicans) to forge a compromise on the Democrats' use of the judicial filibuster, thus allowing the Republican leadership to end debate without having to exercise the nuclear option. Under the agreement, Democrats agreed they would filibuster Bush's judicial nominees only in "extraordinary circumstances"; three Bush appellate court nominees (Janice Rogers Brown, Priscilla Owen, and William Pryor) would receive a vote by the full Senate; and two others, Henry Saad and William Myers, were expressly denied such protection (both eventually withdrew their names from consideration).[50][51]
In 2007, Collins introduced the Accountability in Government Contracting Act, which removed a 3% withholding tax for federal contractors and required the Federal Acquisition Institute to develop a strategic acquisition plan.[52][53]
In October 2008, Collins criticized robocalls by the McCain campaign claiming that Barack Obama "has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, whose organization bombed the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, a judge's home and killed Americans", asserting that those "kind of tactics have no place in Maine politics" and urging McCain to cease the calls immediately.[54]
Third term
In 2009, Collins played a role in removing $870 million in pandemic flu funding from a $787 billion stimulus package. She said she had done so on procedural grounds: "It is the regular appropriations process that is the appropriate vehicle for considering funding for many of these programs that, while worthwhile, do not boost our economy."[55]
In April 2010, Collins and Senator Joe Lieberman issued a subpoena seeking documents and interviews associated with the American government's investigation into the conduct of investigators during their interactions with Nidal Hasan before the Fort Hood shooting. The Pentagon announced that the Obama administration would not authorize Senate investigators to question intelligence agents who reviewed e-mails between Hasan and an extremist Islamic cleric before the shooting. Collins and Lieberman issued a statement accusing the Departments of Justice and Defense of refusing "to provide access to their agents who reportedly reviewed Major Hasan's communications with radical extremist cleric Anwar al Awlaki and to transcripts of prosecution interviews with Hasan's associates and superiors, which DOD already provided to its internal review."[56]
In May 2010, Collins and Snowe were the only two Republicans to vote for an unsuccessful Democratic measure that would have prevented bailouts, highlighted financial products of complexity and toughened consumer protection.[57]
In February 2013, Collins announced her opposition to the confirmation of Chuck Hagel for United States Secretary of Defense, citing her belief that Hagel's "past positions, votes and statements [do not] match the challenges of our time." The announcement came as a surprise, as Collins was considered a possible supporter of his nomination, and it occurred while the nomination was being filibustered.[58] The filibuster on Hagel's nomination was defeated,[59] and he was confirmed later that month.[60]
In May 2013, following a report that the Internal Revenue Service had put additional scrutiny on conservative groups, Collins said the revelation "contributes to the profound distrust that the American people have in government" and added that she was disappointed that Obama "hasn't personally condemned this and spoken out".[61]
In April 2014, the Senate debated the Minimum Wage Fairness Act (S. 1737; 113th Congress). The bill would have amended the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to increase the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour over two years.[62] The bill was strongly supported by Obama and many Democratic senators but strongly opposed by Republicans in the Senate and House.[63][64][65] Collins tried to negotiate a compromise bill that centrist Republicans could agree to but was unable to do so.[65]
Fourth term
In May 2016, the Senate passed an appropriations bill containing an amendment by Collins that she said would help prevent the Department of Housing and Urban Development from gaining "national zoning authority for every neighborhood in our country". The legislation was given a veto threat by the White House, which was said by the Office of Management and Budget to oppose "the inclusion of problematic ideological provisions that are beyond the scope of funding legislation".[66]
In 2016, Collins authored the Safe Treatments and Opportunities to Prevent Pain Act, a provision intended to encourage the National Institutes of Health to further its research into opioid therapy alternatives for pain management, and the Infant Plan of Safe Care Act, which mandated that states ensure safe care plans are developed for infants who are drug-dependent before they are discharged from hospitals. These provisions were included in the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act,[67] legislation that created programs and expanded treatment access alongside implementing $181 million in new spending as part of an attempt to curb heroin and opioid addiction. Obama signed the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act into law on July 22, 2016.[68]
On August 8, 2016, Collins announced that she would not vote for Donald Trump, the Republican nominee in the 2016 presidential election. She said that as a lifelong Republican she did not make the decision lightly but felt he was unsuitable for office, "based on his disregard for the precept of treating others with respect, an idea that should transcend politics".[69] She considered voting for the Libertarian Party's ticket or a write-in candidate.[70][71]
In the 2016 United States presidential election, Collins received one electoral vote for vice president from a faithless elector in Washington.[72]
In January 2017, Collins and Senator Lisa Murkowski voted for Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, within the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, passing DeVos's nomination by a vote of 12–11 to allow the full Senate to vote. Collins justified her vote, saying, "Presidents are entitled to considerable deference in the selection of Cabinet members."[73][74][75] Later, she and Murkowski were the only Republicans to break party lines and vote against DeVos's confirmation.[76][77] This caused a 50–50 tie that was broken by Senate President Mike Pence to confirm DeVos.[78]
In March 2017, Collins said she could not support the American Health Care Act, the House Republicans' plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.[79] She announced she would vote against the Senate version of the Republican bill to repeal Obamacare.[80] Collins also clarified that she opposed repealing the ACA without a replacement proposal.[81] On July 26, Collins was one of seven Republicans in voting against repealing the ACA without a suitable replacement.[82] On July 27, she joined two other Republicans in voting against the "skinny" repeal of the ACA.[83] In October, Collins called on Trump to support a bipartisan congressional effort led by Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray to reinstate insurer payments, saying that what Trump was doing was "affecting people's access and the cost of health care right now".[84]
On December 14, 2017, the day the FCC was set to hold a vote on net neutrality, Collins and King sent the FCC a letter asking that the vote be postponed to allow public hearings on the merits of repealing net neutrality.[85] They expressed concerns that repealing net neutrality could adversely affect the U.S. economy.[85] As part of this drive, Collins is reported to support using the authority under the Congressional Review Act to nullify the FCC's repeal vote.[86] In 2018, Collins was one of three Republicans voting with Democrats to repeal rule changes enacted by the Republican-controlled FCC.[87] The measure was meant to restore Obama-era net neutrality rules.[88]
In 2017, The Lugar Center, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit founded by Senator Richard Lugar, released a bipartisan index in cooperation with Georgetown University that ranked Collins the most bipartisan senator during the first session of the 115th Congress.[89][90]
In January 2018, in response to the Trump administration's not implementing congressionally approved sanctions on Russia, Collins said it was confirmed Russia had tried to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, adding, "not only should there be a price to pay in terms of sanctions, but also we need to put safeguards in place right now for the elections for this year." She noted that the legislation received bipartisan support and predicted Russia would also attempt to interfere in the 2018 elections.[91] In January 2019, Collins was one of 11 Republican senators to vote to advance legislation intended to block Trump from lifting sanctions on three Russian companies. She said she disagreed with "the easing of the sanctions because I think it sends the wrong message to Russia and to the oligarch and close ally of Mr. Putin, Oleg Deripaska, who will in my judgment continue to maintain considerable [ownership] under the Treasury's plan."[92]
In 2018, Collins and Senators Tim Kaine, Catherine Cortez Masto, and Shelley Moore Capito authored the Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act, legislation centered on providing a public health approach to Alzheimer's. The bill would authorize $20 million annually to establish the "Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Public Health Centers of Excellence" and aid statewide efforts to promote brain health and reduce cognitive decline. It passed the Senate and House and was signed by Trump in January 2019.[93]
In September 2018, Collins authored two bills as part of the Opioid Crisis Response Act, a bipartisan package of 70 Senate bills that would alter programs across multiple agencies in an effort to prevent opioids from being shipped through the U.S. Postal Service and grant doctors the ability to prescribe medications designed to wean opioid addictions. The bills passed 99 to 1.[94][95]
In February 2019, Collins was one of five senators to sponsor legislation authorizing the Treasury Department to mint coins honoring George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush under the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005[96] and introduced the Reviving America's Scenic Byways Act of 2019 along with Ben Cardin. The bill required the Secretary of Transportation to request nominations and make determinations in regard to roads that would be designed under a voluntary, community-based program and was signed into law by Trump in September of that year.[97] After the Senate Intelligence Committee held a closed-door meeting with Michael Cohen, Collins said senators "clearly need to re-interview some witnesses whose accounts [Cohen] contradicts". Her comment was seen as hinting at the Intelligence Committee's interest in speaking with Donald Trump Jr. again.[98] In June, Collins cosponsored an amendment to form the John S. McCain III Human Rights Commission, which would hold hearings and briefings on human rights violations ahead of collaborations with the Trump administration to address the violations, and be included in a defense authorization bill McCain had helped create as Armed Services Committee chairman.[99]
In her May 2019 commencement speech at Maine Maritime Academy, Collins said getting the Senate to approve funding for a new training ship for the academy was her "number one priority" and that funding was included in Trump's proposed budget while she would still seek further funds through other measures.[100]
In July 2019, Collins cosponsored the Fallen Journalists Memorial Act, a bill introduced by Ben Cardin and Rob Portman that would create a new, privately funded memorial that would be constructed on federal lands in Washington, D.C. in order to honor journalists, photographers, and broadcasters who died in the line of duty. Collins called freedom of the press "one of our fundamental constitutional rights" and spoke of the risks of reprisals faced by reporters around the world for their work.[101]
In February 2020, Collins voted "not guilty" on both articles in the first impeachment trial of Donald Trump.[102]
On October 26, 2020, Collins was the only Republican senator to vote against the confirmation of Trump's nominee Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Barrett was confirmed by a vote of 52–48.[103]
Fifth term
On January 6, 2021, Collins was participating in the certification of the Electoral College vote count when Trump supporters attacked the United States Capitol. She was on the Senate floor listening to speeches related to the objection to counting Arizona's votes when the Sergeant at Arms of the U.S. Senate and U.S. Capitol Police removed Vice President Mike Pence and Senators Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer. She called the experience "frightening and appalling."[104] Collins later called the attack "a dangerous, shameful, and outrageous attack on our democracy" and blamed Trump for "working up the crowd and inciting this mob". She called on him to call off the rioters. When Congress reconvened after the Capitol was secure, Collins voted to certify the count.[105]
Toward the end of January 2021, Collins led a group of 10 Republican senators who requested that President Joe Biden join bipartisan negotiations when creating his COVID-19 economic relief package.[106] After meeting with the group, Biden opted to pass his relief package using the reconciliation process, for which he did not need Republican support.[107]
On February 13, 2021, Collins was one of seven Republican senators to vote to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial.[108]
Political analysis website FiveThirtyEight found that Collins had voted in line with President Joe Biden around 67% of the time in the 117th Congress.[109]
On May 18, 2021, Axios[110] revealed the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigation of defense contractor Martin Kao, former CEO of Navatek,[111][112] who funneled $150,000 to a pro-Collins super PAC, 1820PAC, via a shell