ICYMI: 'What's Missing From How Susan Collins Explains Her Votes on Controversial Bills' [Bangor Daily News]

Augusta, Maine - In case you missed it, new reporting from the Bangor Daily News debunks Senator Susan Collins’ excuse for her “key” “pivotal vote” to advance the Republican budget bill that will have devastating effects on Maine, as she faces a “looming 2026 reelection battle.”

Collins claimed she voted to advance the bill because she “defer[s]” to the Senate majority leader who “always” has the right to determine what bills come to the floor. But according to reporting, Collins actually has a long history of voting against advancing high-profile bills brought by both Democrats and Republicans.  

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Bangor Daily News: What’s missing from how Susan Collins explains her votes on controversial bills
By Billy Kobin
July 17, 2025

• U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, voted earlier this month to advance President Donald Trump’s megabill to the floor before ultimately voting against it. On Tuesday night, she voted against advancing Trump’s request to cancel about $9 billion in approved spending.
• Republicans who control Congress still had the votes in each case to approve or move the legislation forward, but Collins’ explanation of the advancement votes has drawn attention and offers a glimpse into how she’s navigating her role as prepares for the 2026 election.
• In an interview with Maine Public after the Senate narrowly passed Trump’s megabill of tax breaks and spending cuts, Collins was asked about criticism from Maine Democrats and others for advancing the legislation to the floor for debate if she had concerns over the bill’s Medicaid cuts.
• “First of all, let me say that the majority leader, whether it’s a Democrat or Republican, always has the right to determine which bills come to the floor, except under very few circumstances, and thus, I defer to the right of the majority leader to bring the bill to the floor,” Collins said before referring to the 51-49 advancement vote to add a “no” vote from her “wouldn’t have mattered anyway.”
• Still, while Collins has emphasized she defers to the Senate majority leader, she has voted over the years against advancing high-profile bills brought by both Democrats and Republicans. For example, she voted with her caucus in 2022 against advancing former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and voted a year earlier against advancing Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act that served as an economic stimulus package amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
• She has voted against advancing Republican budget proposals over the years, such as when then-House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, sought in 2011 to replace Medicare with a voucher system - though Democrats controlled the Senate that year. In 2017, Collins joined Democrats in the Republican-controlled Senate to vote against advancing a GOP effort to repeal former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act.