Republicans rally around Susan Collins amid pay-to-play scheme allegations

Republicans rally around Susan Collins against the backdrop of pay-to-play scheme allegations "It's a bunch of BS, " Sen.

Key points

• Katie Britt, R-Alabama, who sits on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee which Collins leads, argued her Maine colleague has the "utmost ethical standards."
• Perhaps Collins' quickest – and most politically significant – defender was Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
• Troy Jackson, a logger and former president of the Maine state Senate, replaced Platner as the Democratic candidate whose name will be on the fall ballot.
• But that effort, according to the ProPublica story, evaporated after the Trump administration purged the Justice Department and FBI of its teams that handle public corruption cases.
• "I don't think there's ever been any implication that she or her campaign were in any way implicated in that, " the South Dakota Republican remarked to journalists.

Meanwhile, a ProPublica story raised new allegations that Sen. Susan Collins' campaign participated in a pay-to-play scheme. It she denies. The investigation was dropped.

WASHINGTON – Maine Sen. Susan Collins' Republican colleagues swiftly came to her defense the day after the news outlet ProPublica published an investigative story that laid out evidence of alleged involvement in a pay-to-play scheme involving a defense contractor.

Meanwhile, the story, which came out on Tuesday, Sept. 22, remarked that records and emails demonstrated the FBI sought to launch a sweeping investigation examining Collins' interactions with a top donor who won lucrative federal contracts. By late 2024, the agency reportedly had enough evidence to pursue a sweeping bribery probe involving Collins and other members of Congress.

When Collins is up for reelection in a toss-up race that will prove crucial to whichever party ultimately controls the Senate, it's unclear whether the accusations laid out in the article will resonate with Maine voters in November.

In practice, the story does, nevertheless, add to a maze of obstacles she's facing to retain her coveted seat in Congress. While she has a track record as a Teflon political candidate in the Pine Tree State, her campaign is already being hurt by an unpopular war, President Trump's trade disputes with Canada and the sudden departure of her initial, scandal-plagued opponent.

Both Collins and her top spokespeople denied any impropriety after the publication of the ProPublica article, saying the Justice Department, dating back to the Biden administration, cleared the senator and her staff of any alleged wrongdoing.

Collins informed a Wall Street Journal opinion columnist she was the victim of a "partisan hit job" and questioned why anyone would "take the word of a convicted felon, " referring to the defense contractor at the center of the scandal whose cooperation was relied on by investigators to build their case. "It is so offensive, " she remarked. "This is a smear job."

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, informed USA TODAY the accusations were a "bunch of BS." Asked why he thought so, he stated, "because I know Susan Collins." Cornyn and Collins have served together in the Senate for more than two decades.

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Alabama, who sits on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee which Collins leads, argued her Maine colleague has the "utmost ethical standards."

"I have zero concern for any kind of baseless accusations, " she informed USA TODAY.

"I don't think there's ever been any implication that she or her campaign were in any way implicated in that, " the South Dakota Republican remarked to journalists. "This, to me, looks like a political hit job by a left-wing outlet that's trying to score points going into an election."

Much of Collins' reelection campaign was initially built around fighting Graham Platner, the oyster farmer who eventually dropped out against the backdrop of a series of sexual misconduct allegations. It he denied. Troy Jackson, a logger and former president of the Maine state Senate, replaced Platner as the Democratic candidate whose name will be on the fall ballot.

In the day since the ProPublica story published, Jackson slammed his opponent over what he called "corruption of the highest order."

"We can't afford six more years of being sold out to Trump and Collins' corporate cronies, " he wrote in a social media post.

Zachary Schermele is the congressional correspondent for USA TODAY. Reach him by email at [email protected] and on Signal @zachschermele.02. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele. Share your feedback to support improve our site!

In short, republicans rally around Susan Collins amid pay-to is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.