Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) does not regret voting for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation as secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), reaffirming her position in a Thursday debate.
“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, locked in a tough reelection battle with former state Sen. Troy Jackson (D), has been criticized by Democrats for not standing up to President Trump when it could affect the outcome of a vote. A New York Times analysis recently found that when Collins votes against the president in his second term, her outcome has prevailed just 15 percent of the time.
While that may not be an issue for most Republican senators running for reelection, it matters in a blue state like Maine, which backed former Vice President Kamala Harris by 7 points in 2024 and where Collins has staked her reelection bid on standing up to both parties.
Kennedy had a drawn-out confirmation battle to become HHS secretary, driven by his past controversial statements on vaccines and medicine.
Since being confirmed, Kennedy has fired vaccine experts and changed federal guidance on vaccines. Collins spoke out against some of those moves, calling Kennedy’s firing of the entire Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccine panel “excessive.” Collins and Kennedy also clashed over HHS cuts to vaccine funding for HIV/AIDS.
Moderators challenged Collins to name a time when she opposed the president and affected the outcome. Collins mentioned that she rallied senators to oppose Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s confirmation, but that it was unsuccessful in the end.
“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.”
“So that didn’t change the outcome,” the moderator replied.
Jackson used the comment to attack Collins.
“The reality is that 100 percent of the time, when Donald Trump needs her, Susan Collins is going to be there,” Jackson said.
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