Vulnerable GOP senator breaks with Trump on 2 key issues as Vance makes stop without her

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, a moderate Republican seeking re-election in a blue-leaning state, is not joining Vice President JD Vance on Monday as he stops in her home state of Maine.

Collins, who at times has opposed President Donald Trump's legislative priorities, is a top target for Democrats this year as she runs in a midterm race that's among roughly a dozen that will determine if the GOP holds onto its slim Senate majority.

Vance's stop in Maine comes as Collins opposes Trump's move this past weekend to impose 50% tariffs on a range of goods from Canada, which shares a long border with Maine. And the senator is also opposed to new U.S. Postal Service rules that, if implemented, could rein in mail-in voting.

The vice president on Monday delivered remarks in Brewer, Maine, at Compotech, a defense technology manufacturer. It's the second stop this year by Vance in Maine and the second time that Collins has not teamed up with the vice president.

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"I am already scheduled on Monday, so I will not be able to join the vice president," Collins told reporters on Saturday.

The Senate was in session when Vance held an event in Bangor, Maine, in May, and Collins stayed in Washington. The senator holds a historic attendance record of casting over 10,000 consecutive roll call votes in the Senate dating back three decades.

But Collins, speaking to reporters as she marched in the annual Madison-Anson Days parade, her seventh parade this summer, highlighted that she teamed up last week with Energy Secretary Chris Wright when he stopped in Maine to tour a federally funded battery storage project in Lincoln built on the site of a closed paper mill.

"I really appreciated Secretary Wright's presence," Collins said.

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Collins, who was one of a small group of Republicans who voted to convict Trump in a 2021 Senate trial after the House impeached him following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, has at times voted against the Trump administration's wishes.

"I still think imposing new tariffs on Canada is a mistake," Collins said on Saturday.

Collins also referred to the proposed U.S. Post Office rule to implement a Trump executive order to rein in mail-in voting by refusing to deliver absentee ballots in states that have not turned over their raw voter rolls to the Justice Department or Department of Homeland Security.

"Mail-in ballots are very important to the people of Maine," Collins said. "I do no support restrictions that make it more difficult for seniors to cast votes on Election Day via the mail."

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Collins says she supports the House version of the federal SAVE America Act (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act), which mandates documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote and a photo ID for federal elections. But she joined three other Republicans and all Democrats to vote against advancing a Senate version of the bill, which is a top Trump priority.

Collins has also taken issue with the Trump administration over its crackdown on illegal immigration, and its aggressive deportation efforts. The administration received backlash following the fatal shootings by federal enforcement agents of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota who were protesting immigration operations. And the issue flared again this summer, after a fatal ICE shooting in Biddeford, Maine.

Democrats, including her Senate challenger, former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, have repeatedly linked her to Trump, and heavily criticized her for her past funding for ICE.

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Collins is the only Republican senator running for re-election in a state then-Vice President Kamala Harris carried in the 2024 election. And highlighting her differences with the president and his administration may be beneficial to Collins as she woos independent voters and even some Democrats.

Vance, during his May stop in Maine, said, "Sometimes I get frustrated with Susan Collins."

"I almost wish that she was more partisan. But the thing I love about Susan is she is independent, because Maine is an independent state. And, frankly, if she was as partisan as I sometimes wish that she was, she would not be a good fit for the people of Maine," Vance continued.

Vance added, "Let’s give a shoutout to Susan Collins, who’s doing a great job."

Jackson's campaign, in a social media post ahead of Vance's visit, called the vice president "Susan's pal."

The vice president reiterated those sentiments in his Monday address in Brewer, Maine, calling Collins his "dear friend."

"As you know, Susan is the most independent member of the United States Senate and, as the president of the United States Senate, she sometimes makes my job a little bit harder. But she makes it harder because she’s coming to work every single day and fighting not for a political party… she comes to work every single day and fights for the great people of Maine and I’ve seen it," Vance said.

Jackson, in a social media post and video ahead of Vance's visit, took aim at Vance and Collins.

"I'm sure JD Vance loves her because she's doing everything.. that he wants for her, but she's not doing it for Maine people," Jackson argued in an accompanying video.

Vance was joined in Brewer by former two-term Republican Gov. Paul LePage, who is the GOP nominee in Maine's 2nd Congressional District.

The most rural district, the largest in the eastern U.S., is a top flip opportunity for the GOP, with moderate Democratic Rep. Jared Golden declining to seek re-election this year.