Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she does not regret voting to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), reaffirming her position during a debate on Thursday.
“I agree with him on some issues; I don’t with others,” Collins said. “He was very helpful in expediting the release of the low-income eating assistance program.”
Collins is locked in a tough reelection fight against former state Sen. Troy Jackson, a Democrat. Democrats have criticized the longtime Republican senator for failing to stand up to President Donald Trump in moments when her opposition could change the outcome of a vote.
A recent New York Times analysis found that when Collins has voted against the president during his second term, her side has prevailed just 15% of the time.
That may not be a concern for most Republican senators seeking reelection, but it carries more weight in Maine. The state backed former Vice President Kamala Harris by 7 points in 2024, and Collins has built her reelection campaign around her willingness to stand up to both parties.
Kennedy faced a drawn-out confirmation fight to lead HHS, fueled by his past controversial statements on vaccines and medicine.
Since his confirmation, Kennedy has fired vaccine experts and changed federal guidance on vaccines.
Collins has pushed back on some of those decisions. She called Kennedy’s firing of the entire Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccine panel “excessive.” The two have also clashed over HHS cuts to vaccine funding for HIV/AIDS.
During the debate, moderators pressed Collins to name a time when she opposed the president and changed the outcome.
Collins pointed to her effort to rally senators against the confirmation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, though she acknowledged that the push ultimately fell short.
“There are several examples of that. At one point, I had organized people to vote against Secretary Hegseth,” Collins said. “At the very last minute, at the very last minute, one of our Republicans changed his mind.”
The moderator quickly noted the result.
“So that didn’t change the outcome,” the moderator replied.
Jackson seized on the exchange to go on the attack against the incumbent.
“The reality is that 100 percent of the time, when Donald Trump needs her, Susan Collins is going to be there,” Jackson said.
The moment highlighted a central line of attack Democrats have leveled against Collins throughout the race. Jackson and his allies argue that while Collins may break with the president on certain votes, she rarely stops his agenda when it counts.
Collins, meanwhile, has sought to present herself as an independent voice for Maine, willing to disagree with Kennedy and others in the administration when she believes they have gone too far, while still working with them on issues where they agree.
Her defense of the Kennedy vote, paired with her criticism of some of his actions at HHS, reflects that balancing act as she fights to hold her seat in a state that leaned Democratic in the last presidential election.
[READ MORE: Peltola Mocked for Notecards in Heated Alaska Senate Debate With Sullivan]
