Susan Collins Biography Quotes 8 Report mistakes

Early Life and Family
Susan Margaret Collins was born on December 7, 1952, in Caribou, Maine, into a family rooted in public service and small business. Her parents, Donald F. Collins and Patricia M. Collins, were well-known in northern Maine; her father served in the Maine Legislature, and her mother served as mayor of Caribou. The family owned and operated S.W. Collins Co., a longstanding lumber and building-supply business. Growing up in Aroostook County, she learned early the values of civic duty, pragmatism, and the realities of running a local enterprise in a rural economy. As a high school student, she traveled to Washington through a youth leadership program and met Senator Margaret Chase Smith, an encounter she has often cited as formative in her understanding of independent-minded public service.

Education and Early Political Apprenticeship
Collins attended St. Lawrence University in New York, graduating in 1975 Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude with a degree in government. Soon after, she began a long apprenticeship in Congress under William S. Cohen, then a U.S. Representative and later a U.S. Senator from Maine. Over roughly a dozen years on Cohen's staff, Collins developed expertise in legislative process, oversight, and constituent service, work that would shape her methodical, bipartisan approach. Cohen's mentorship, combined with the example set by Margaret Chase Smith, gave Collins a model for independence within the Republican Party, and for a pragmatic style focused on results.

State and Federal Executive Service
Returning to Maine, Collins served from 1987 to 1992 as Commissioner of the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation under Governor John R. McKernan Jr. The post placed her at the intersection of consumer protection, business regulation, and state economic development. In 1992, she was appointed New England regional director of the U.S. Small Business Administration, giving her a front-row view of credit access and entrepreneurship. She later directed the Center for Family Business at Husson College, where she worked with small firms navigating succession, compliance, and growth.

1994 Gubernatorial Campaign
In 1994, Collins ran for governor of Maine as the Republican nominee. The race, a competitive three-way contest, was ultimately won by independent Angus King, with Democrat Joseph Brennan finishing ahead of Collins. Although she did not prevail, the campaign broadened her statewide profile and helped define her as a fiscal conservative with a moderate, practical streak on social issues.

Election to the U.S. Senate
In 1996, with Senator William Cohen not seeking reelection, Collins ran for the U.S. Senate and won, beginning a tenure that would make her one of the most durable political figures in Maine. She has been reelected multiple times, including victories over prominent Democrats such as Joseph Brennan, Tom Allen, Shenna Bellows, and Sara Gideon. During this period, Olympia Snowe, another Republican from Maine, served alongside Collins until 2013, when Angus King won Snowe's former seat, becoming Collins's bipartisan partner on many Maine priorities.

Committee Leadership and Legislative Focus
Collins has served on several influential committees, including Appropriations, Select Intelligence, and the Special Committee on Aging. As chair of the Governmental Affairs Committee (later Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs) in the early to mid-2000s, she played a central role in post-9/11 oversight and reform efforts, contributing to restructuring initiatives intended to strengthen intelligence coordination. She also led inquiries into emergency preparedness and the federal response to disasters, work that culminated in detailed, bipartisan investigations and reports. On Appropriations, she has focused on defense and shipbuilding crucial to Maine's economy, including Bath Iron Works, as well as on transportation, rural broadband, heating assistance, and health care access.

Bipartisanship and Notable Votes
Nationally, Collins has been viewed as a centrist Republican willing to cross party lines. She joined Lisa Murkowski and John McCain to block a 2017 attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act through the so-called skinny repeal, a moment that highlighted her clout. In 2018, she delivered an extended floor speech announcing her decision to vote to confirm Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, a choice that drew intense scrutiny and mixed reactions in Maine and across the country. During the first impeachment trial of President Donald Trump in 2020, she voted to acquit; in the second trial in 2021 following the events of January 6, she broke with most in her party and voted to convict. She supported the bipartisan infrastructure law in 2021 and helped shape pandemic-era relief for small businesses. In 2022, she backed the confirmation of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, and she worked with colleagues across the aisle to pass the Respect for Marriage Act, reflecting her long-standing support for LGBTQ rights and her emphasis on legal stability.

Working Style and Relationships
Collins's approach emphasizes steady committee work, exhaustive review of the record, and negotiation with colleagues across the ideological spectrum. She has partnered at different times with Republicans such as Rob Portman, Mitt Romney, and Thom Tillis, and Democrats such as Joe Manchin, Jeanne Shaheen, Tammy Baldwin, and Kyrsten Sinema. She has navigated changing Senate leadership under Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer while preserving a focus on Maine's needs. Relations with presidents have varied by issue: she has supported initiatives under both Republican and Democratic administrations, underscoring her institutionalist bent and preference for bipartisan coalitions.

Representation of Maine
For Collins, constituent service and economic development in a rural, aging state are central. She has advocated for the lobster industry, forestry and paper, agriculture, and the defense industrial base. She has pushed for heating and weatherization assistance to help families through harsh winters, and for investments in roads, bridges, and ports that connect Maine's dispersed communities to national and global markets. On the Aging Committee, she has highlighted Alzheimer's research, elder fraud prevention, and the challenges of caregiving and rural health systems.

Recognition and Influence
Over multiple Congresses, independent organizations have frequently ranked Collins among the most bipartisan senators. Her willingness to be a decisive vote has brought influence, but also political risk, requiring her to explain controversial decisions carefully to constituents and colleagues. Her long tenure, combined with committee seniority, has given her leverage to direct funding to Maine priorities and to shape legislation where the margins are close.

Personal Life
Collins married Thomas Daffron in 2012. Daffron, a veteran of Capitol Hill and public affairs, had been a trusted adviser and former Senate chief of staff. Despite the demands of national office, Collins has maintained close ties to Caribou and to communities across Maine, returning frequently and emphasizing accessibility through town halls, local meetings, and visits to businesses and hospitals.

Legacy and Ongoing Work
Susan Collins's career reflects the influence of mentors like Margaret Chase Smith and William Cohen, a tradition of Maine independence, and a belief in incremental, negotiated progress. Her record spans oversight of national security and disaster response, support for small businesses and infrastructure, and a series of votes that placed her at the center of defining national debates. As she continues to serve, her role remains that of a dealmaker and an institutional steward, measuring each issue against the interests of Maine and the practical possibilities for bipartisan agreement.

Our collection contains 8 quotes who is written by Susan, under the main topics: Justice - Nature - Health - Military & Soldier - Peace.