Political Wire

Susan Collins ‘Got Rolled’

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Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) wouldn’t say whether she’ll support the final tax package in the absence of guaranteed passage of the health-care bills, Bloomberg reports.

“Collins’s promise came from Senate Majority Mitch McConnell — who can’t always deliver a vote in his own chamber, let alone the one across the capitol. It’s by no means clear that either of the health care bills Collins bargained for will get anywhere in the House, where conservatives regard at least one of the measures with disdain.”

Said Democratic lobbyist Jim Manley: “She got rolled. Despite the fact that she’s a veteran legislator, as far as I’m concerned she got rolled here. The promises she extracted from the Senate leadership aren’t worth the piece of paper they’re written on.”

Collins Lays Out Her Demands for Tax Bill

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Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) told Bloomberg that “she’s opposed to two tax breaks for the wealthy that her party leaders are pushing for, indicating that her vote won’t be easy to win on President Trump’s top legislative priority.”

Said Collins: “I do not believe that the top rate should be lowered for individuals who are making more than $1 million a year. I don’t think there’s any need to eliminate the estate tax.”

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Will Collins Leave the Senate?

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Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) “will announce at a local Chamber of Commerce event on Friday whether she will run for governor — a decision that remains shrouded in secrecy and could upend the Senate political landscape,” Politico reports.

“The influential moderate plans to make the announcement during a speech she’s giving on health care in Rockport, Maine… The speech is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m.”

[alert type=”general” dismiss=”no”]Making the announcement at a preexisting and relatively small event would suggest she’s not launching a new campaign. [/alert]

Collins Will Announce Plans on Running for Governor

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Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) will announce Friday morning whether she will run for governor of Maine in 2018, CNN reports.

“Collins, among the most moderate GOP senators, has been a thorn in President Donald Trump’s side… But were she elected, her departure from the Senate would be a sharp blow to Republicans because without Collins, the seat would become much more difficult to keep out of Democratic hands in 2020.”

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Trump Has Effectively Lost His Senate Majority

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When President Trump took to Twitter to chastise Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) over the weekend, it’s obvious he wasn’t thinking of the narrow margin Republicans have in the Senate.

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Collins Will Not Support GOP Health Care Bill

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Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said that she would oppose the latest plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, leaving Republican leaders clearly short of the votes they need for passage, the New York Times reports.

Said Collins: “Health care is a deeply personal, complex issue that affects every single one of us and one-sixth of the American economy. Sweeping reforms to our health care system and to Medicaid can’t be done well in a compressed time frame, especially when the actual bill is a moving target.”

She added: “Today, we find out that there is now a fourth version of the Graham-Cassidy proposal, which is as deeply flawed as the previous iterations. The fact that a new version of this bill was released the very week we are supposed to vote compounds the problem.”

Collins Could Face Fight If She Runs for Governor

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“Collins has been named the most moderate U.S. senator and has irked conservatives before. If she stays in the Senate through her term’s end in early 2021, this may be little more than a flashpoint, since she regularly registers approval ratings above 65 percent here. But if she runs for governor in 2018, several active Republicans told the Bangor Daily News that they would expect a tough primary fight.”

Quote of the Day

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“There was only one issue. That’s unusual. It’s usually a wide range of issues. I heard, over and over again, encouragement for my stand against the current version of the Senate and House health-care bills. People were thanking me, over and over again. ‘Thank you, Susan!’ ‘Stay strong, Susan!'”

— Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), quoted by the Washington Post.

Collins Won’t Vote for GOP Health Care Bill

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Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) tweeted that she would be voting “no” on the Senate health care bill after the CBO estimated that 22 million fewer people would be covered under the plan.

She said she wanted to “fix the flaws in ACA. CBO analysis shows Senate bill won’t do it. I will vote no.”

Axios: “Collins is the sixth senator to come out against the bill in its current form, and the third to say she’ll vote against a motion to bring it up for a vote. That means the bill is stalled unless changes are made to convince senators to change their votes.”

Collins May Run for Maine Governor

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Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said she “was seriously contemplating a run for Maine governor in 2018, her most definitive statement yet on a topic that has long been the subject of political speculation,” the Portland Press Herald reports.

Said Collins: “I’m trying to figure out where I can do the most good. I’m being totally honest with you – I truly don’t know, I really don’t, it’s a hard decision.”

Quote of the Day

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“The CBO estimate that millions of Americans could lose their health insurance coverage if the House bill were to become law is cause for alarm. It should prompt the House to slow down and reconsider certain provisions of the bill.”

— Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), quoted by the Bangor Daily News.

One Republican Would Subpoena Trump’s Taxes

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Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) told Maine Public Radio that she wants a vigorous investigation into Russia’s attempts to influence last fall’s presidential election.

“Asked whether that could include issuing a subpoena for the tax returns that Trump has refused to release, Collins said it could if that is what is required to find out if the president had undisclosed connections to the Russians.”

Said Collins: “I don’t know whether we will need to do that. If it is necessary to get to the answers, then I suspect that we would.”

DeVos Nomination Could Be In Trouble

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Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) both said that they will not support Betsy DeVos to be President Trump’s Education secretary pick, The Hill reports.

“If all of the Senate’s Democrats vote against DeVos, she would have 50 votes if the remaining Republicans backed her — with Vice President Mike Pence potentially breaking the tie. No Democrats have backed DeVos.”

Politico: “Republican leaders had been planning to bring either DeVos or Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions to the floor for a confirmation vote later this week. If Sessions is confirmed, Republicans may need to swear in a new senator from Alabama in order to be able to confirm DeVos.”

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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