Susan Collins on Political Lobbying

Public disputes concerning lobbying organizations, political influence, advocacy spending, access to officials, and claims about the effect of organized interests on public policy.

How we classify topics

Counts show individual statements. They do not assign an overall position.

Statement history

3 statements on this page. Dates: September 23, 2026 to October 15, 2026

3 matching statements. Dates: September 23, 2026 to October 15, 2026

3 published statements. Dates: September 23, 2026 to October 15, 2026

Denied

3 published statements. Dates: September 23, 2026 to October 15, 2026

3 statements on this page. Dates: September 23, 2026 to October 15, 2026

Susan Collins

Role at the time: U.S. senator from Maine and Republican candidate for reelection

October 15, 2026Denied

Statement summary

Asked about the Senate ethics complaint, Collins says the allegations are completely false and were rejected by the Justice Department, the FBI and the Federal Election Commission. She says a photo shows Kao met her months before he made any contribution and that he revived the story hoping for leniency.

“The allegations are completely false ... We have a picture of his meeting with me and with other people in my office that is many months before he ever made a single contribution ... He spun this story up again in the hopes that the judge would be lenient, or the prosecutor would be.”

Open sourceRepublican Susan Collins dismisses allegations of corruption as 'completely false' · The Guardian

Guardian report on Collins's answer to a reporter's question about the Senate ethics complaint over the Navatek allegations.

Why we used this label

The case asks whether Collins traded support for Navatek's federal contracts for campaign donations. Collins rejects the allegation outright and disputes the account's timeline, so we used the denies label.

Read statement Full case: Did Susan Collins Trade Federal Contract Support for Navatek Campaign Donations?

Susan Collins

Role at the time: Republican U.S. senator from Maine, through campaign spokesperson Blake Kernen

October 1, 2026Denied

Statement summary

Asked by the Portland Press Herald whether Susan Collins called Navatek CEO Martin Kao to thank him for a 2019 super PAC donation, her campaign spokesperson said there is no record of the call and that neither Collins nor anyone who worked for her believes she made it.

“Neither Susan Collins nor anyone who worked for her believes that she made a call”

Open sourcePortland Press Herald: The laws tied to the Collins-Navatek allegations are 'crystal clear.' Enforcing them is another matter.Section "Did Collins actually call Kao to thank him?"; statements from campaign spokesperson Blake Kernen.

Press Herald explainer on the campaign-finance and contracting laws tied to the Navatek allegations. It includes the Collins campaign's answer, through spokesperson Blake Kernen, to whether Collins called Martin Kao to thank him for the shell-company donation that ProPublica reported, and comments from campaign-finance experts.

Archived copy

Why we used this label

The case asks whether Collins traded federal contract support for Navatek campaign donations. ProPublica reported that a Reed aide sought Kao's number because Collins "would like to call Martin to thank him." The campaign denies the call took place, so we labeled it Denies.

Read statement Full case: Did Susan Collins Trade Federal Contract Support for Navatek Campaign Donations?

Susan Collins

Role at the time: U.S. Senator for Maine, the senator whose conduct is at issue

September 23, 2026Denied

Statement summary

Collins personally denies the pay-to-play allegations, citing a 2021 Biden Justice Department finding of no wrongdoing by her, her office, or her campaign, and calls the ProPublica report a political hit job driven by Democratic tactics; she also calls Kao a liar with multiple federal convictions.

“In 2021, the Biden Justice Department found there was no wrongdoing by anyone on my campaign staff, my office or me. This is absolutely outrageous. It's clearly a political hit job.”

Open sourceSusan Collins slams ‘political hit job’ on Justice Department probeparagraphs 1-8, quoting Collins speaking to reporters off the Senate floor

Punchbowl News reporting on Sen. Susan Collins on-the-record remarks to reporters just off the Senate floor responding to the ProPublica investigation, including her denial of wrongdoing, her characterization of the story as a political hit job tied to Schumer/Democratic tactics, and her description of Martin Kao as a liar with multiple federal convictions.

Why we used this label

On whether she traded federal contract support for Navatek campaign donations, Collins says the Biden Justice Department already investigated and found no wrongdoing by her, her staff, or her campaign. That is a direct denial that the alleged conduct occurred, not merely a dispute over how the story is framed.

Read statement Full case: Did Susan Collins Trade Federal Contract Support for Navatek Campaign Donations?