On Jan. 22, 1997, Sen. Susan Collins voted to confirm Madeline Albright as secretary of State. That was her first Senate vote, and she hasn't missed one since. On Thursday night, the Maine Republican cast her 10,000th consecutive vote, backing a motion tied to a $70 billion budget reconciliation package, the Hill reports. The moment briefly froze the Senate's vote-a-rama as Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Democratic leader Chuck Schumer both stepped up with floor tributes, and colleagues rose for a standing ovation.
- "Sen. Collins and I belong to different parties and do not always see eye to eye, but 10,000 consecutive roll call votes is an extraordinary streak by any measure and I congratulate her on reaching it," Schumer said,
Maine's other senator, independent Sen. Angus King, noted that the state's harsh winter weather makes her record especially impressive. Her tally now trails only former Sen. William Proxmire, a Wisconsin Democrat who cast a record 10,252 consecutive votes between 1966 and 1988. Sen. Chuck Grassley is in third place with an 8,927-vote run. The Iowa Republican's 27-year streak was broken when he tested positive for COVID in 2020 and at age 91, he has little chance of rebuilding it.
The milestone arrives as Collins seeks a sixth term in a competitive race against Democrat Graham Platner. She is on course to break Proxmire's record early next year if she wins, the Bangor Daily News reports. "Mainers are known for their work ethic, and I have strived to bring those values here to my work representing them in the United State Senate," she said after her 10,000th vote. "It is such an honor, and I'm so grateful for the support of my colleagues." In the vote, she was the only Republican to support a Democratic-sponsored measure to direct the government to investigate the denial of Medicaid coverage to eligible beneficiaries, the Hill reports.
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