Collins says voting with Trump not in 'interests' of her state after doing it 93% of time

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) argued in an interview that she doesn’t vote along a “party line” and that to do so is “one of the thing things that’s wrong” with modern politics. But Collins has closely voted for the Trump agenda and was a champion of his Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh.

“You could argue politically that it would be easier for me to just follow a straight party line, but that’s not what I think is in the best interests of the people of Maine or this country,” said Collins in an interview with the Bangor Daily News published Monday.

“In fact, I think that’s one of the things that’s wrong with our politics today, and I believe we need more people who will seek common ground and try to work things out.”

Yet, Collins’ record in the Senate in the last two years shows someone closely aligned with Trump.

According to Congressional Quarterly’s study of “presidential support” votes from 2017 to 2019, Collins voted with Trump 93.3% of the time. Rather than placing her in between the two major parties, Collins’ voting record puts her near the top of the list of Trump supporters.

Other conservative Republicans, like Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and John Kennedy (R-LA) have similar numbers to Collins when it comes to supporting Trump: 95.9% and 96.1% respectively.

As she has aligned herself with Trump, Collins has seen her unpopularity surge. She is now the second most unpopular senator in America, only ranking behind Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Not only did her stock fall as her Trump voting increased, but Collins has also been widely criticized for supporting Brett Kavanaugh, Trump’s Supreme Court pick.

Even after credible allegations of Kavanaugh surfaced, coupled with his extremist views against abortion and health care, Collins stood next to him. She did so despite her claims over the years of being a pro-choice, pro-health care Republican.

Using her own standard, coupled with her political positions and votes, Collins is not doing what is in “the best interests of the people of Maine or this country.”

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.