Susan Collins Joins Dems In Voting For Insurance Company Amendment

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) broke from Senate Republican leadership Thursday and joined Democrats on a procedural vote targeting the Senate’s $70 billion budget reconciliation package.

Collins voted in favor of a Democratic-backed motion from Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) that would have sent the legislation back to the Senate Judiciary Committee for additional review.

Ossoff’s motion called for the committee to examine allegations that insurance companies have improperly denied or delayed medical treatment and coverage for patients.

Most Senate Republicans opposed the move, arguing that the reconciliation package should keep advancing without being pulled back into committee.

The motion failed 47-50.

“Let’s ban insurance companies from denying or delaying medically necessary healthcare to Americans,” Ossoff said on the Senate floor while introducing the amendment.

Ossoff pointed to the experience of one of his constituents who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare blood cancer, and struggled to get her medical care covered by her insurance company.

“Across America, insurance companies continue to deny and delay medically necessary healthcare,” Ossoff added.

The proposal echoed a similar amendment Ossoff offered during the Senate budget resolution process in April. That earlier effort sought to create a point of order against any reconciliation bill that failed to address insurance companies delaying or denying medical care.

Collins joined Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) in supporting Ossoff’s amendment in April, according to The Hill.

But on Thursday, Sullivan and Hawley opposed the motion, while Collins remained with Democrats.

Had Ossoff’s motion succeeded, it would have effectively derailed the budget reconciliation bill, which includes funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through 2029 if signed into law by President Donald Trump, The Hill reported.

The vote placed Collins once again in the familiar position of breaking with her party at a critical moment. While Democrats framed the motion as a health care accountability measure, Republicans viewed it as an attempt to stall a broader package tied to border security and immigration enforcement.

The episode also comes as Collins has taken a closely watched position on other major issues before the Senate, including presidential war powers.

In April, the Senate rejected a resolution that would have blocked President Trump from ordering additional military strikes on Iran as lawmakers debated Congress’s role in the conflict.

That procedural vote failed 52-47, marking another unsuccessful attempt by Democrats and some GOP skeptics to limit the administration’s military authority.

Collins, who has frequently criticized Trump, voted against the resolution.

Still, she said the president’s authority as commander in chief is not unlimited and emphasized that Congress has a constitutional role if military operations continue beyond key legal limits.

“I have been clear from the beginning of this military operation that the President’s power is not unlimited as Commander in Chief, as the Constitution gives Congress an essential role in matters of war and peace,” she said.

The Iran vote came as lawmakers weighed U.S. involvement in a conflict drawing increasing scrutiny on Capitol Hill.

President Trump had earlier threatened to destroy Iran’s “whole civilization” before later agreeing to a temporary two-week ceasefire.

Democrats have forced multiple votes under the War Powers Resolution of 1973 in an effort to restrict the administration’s actions.

All four attempts have failed.

Sen. Rand Paul joined Democrats in supporting the resolution, while Sen. John Fetterman broke with his party and voted against it. Sen. Jim Justice (R-W. Va.) did not vote.

Even among Republicans who opposed the Democratic resolution, some senators said they still wanted President Trump to consult Congress as the conflict approached a key legal deadline.

Under the War Powers Resolution, presidents are required to end military engagements not authorized by Congress within 60 days unless Congress grants an extension. Presidents from both parties, however, have long argued that the 1973 law is unconstitutional.

Trump initially suggested the conflict would last only four to five weeks, but the timeline has moved closer to the legal threshold.

The president has offered mixed signals, saying earlier this week that the war was “very close to over,” even as additional military actions continued.

“The president recognized ahead of time when he first went into Iran that this was going to be a short-term thing, right?” Sen. Lisa Murkowski said.

“We’re probably not going to be dealing with 60 days. Well, here we are,” she said.

For conservatives, the larger issue is clear: Democrats are using every available procedural tool to slow or reshape Republican priorities, whether on border security, immigration enforcement, or presidential authority abroad.

Collins’ vote with Democrats on Ossoff’s motion did not succeed, but it gave the left another opening to challenge the GOP’s reconciliation package at a crucial stage.

The bill now moves forward without being sent back to committee, preserving Republicans’ push to deliver long-term funding for ICE and Border Patrol under President Trump.