Maine Sen. Susan Collins voted to confirm Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and export-control chief Jeffrey Kessler, whose department began licensing Nvidia AI chips for sale to China in August 2025 and later cleared the more powerful H200. She voted to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence, and Gabbard moved to cut nearly half its workforce and dissolve the center that tracked foreign efforts to influence Americans.
Collins also voted to confirm Pam Bondi as attorney general, whose first-week memo disbanded the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force, and Kristi Noem and Olivia Trusty, whose agencies cut cybersecurity staff and rolled back phone-network security rules after Chinese hacking.
Susan Collins's Confirmation Votes and the China and Security Decisions That Followed
- Collins Voted to Confirm the Commerce Officials Who Approved AI Chip Sales to China. Susan Collins voted to confirm Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary on February 18, 2025, and Jeffrey Kessler as under secretary for industry and security, who runs export controls, on March 13, 2025. Commerce started issuing H20 licenses on Aug. 8, two days after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang met the President, with Nvidia and AMD agreeing to pay 15% of their revenues from chip sales to China to the U.S. government. In December 2025 the administration cleared Nvidia's H200 for China with 25 percent of the revenue going to the government, and on January 13, 2026 Commerce published a new regulation permitting the sale of advanced AI chips to China. Council on Foreign Relations analysts wrote that China's military is actively seeking Nvidia chips.
- Collins Voted to Confirm Tulsi Gabbard, Who Cut the Intelligence Office That Tracked Foreign Influence. On February 12, 2025, Collins voted to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence, and she was confirmed 52 to 48. In August 2025 Gabbard announced her office would cut nearly half its workforce, dissolving the Foreign Malign Influence Center, National Counterproliferation and Biosecurity Center and the cyber threat center.
- Collins Voted to Confirm Pam Bondi, Who Disbanded the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force. On February 4, 2025, Collins voted to confirm Pam Bondi as attorney general. The next day Bondi issued a memo that disbands the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force, the unit that worked against secret influence campaigns by China, Russia and other adversaries aimed at Americans.
- Collins Voted to Confirm Kristi Noem, Whose Department Laid Off Staff Fighting Chinese Hacking Campaigns. On January 25, 2025, Collins voted to confirm Kristi Noem as secretary of homeland security, whose department includes the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). CISA layoffs included staff working to combat intrusion campaigns by Salt Typhoon and Volt Typhoon, the Chinese state hacking groups, NOTUS reported.
- Collins Voted to Confirm the FCC Commissioner Who Helped Reverse Phone-Network Security Rules After the Salt Typhoon Hack. On June 18, 2025, Collins voted to confirm Olivia Trusty as a member of the Federal Communications Commission, 53 to 45. In November 2025 Chairman Brendan Carr and Commissioner Olivia Trusty approved the reversal of the January 2025 ruling requiring carriers to secure their networks after the Chinese Salt Typhoon intrusion, which had gained access not just to standard network management gear but also to parts of the lawful intercept systems, The Register reported.
- Collins Voted Against Blocking Money to Refit a Qatari Jet as Air Force One in October 2025. On October 9, 2025, Collins voted no on an amendment "to prohibit the use of funds to procure or modify foreign aircraft for presidential airlift," which failed 46 to 50 under a 60-vote threshold. The Air Force secretary had estimated the retrofit of the plane Qatar gave the President at probably less than $400 million, and reports said the funds would come from the Sentinel missile program, which is already over budget (Straight Arrow News).
What the Security Cuts Under Officials Susan Collins Confirmed Mean for Maine
- Cyber defense. By June 2026 CISA, the federal cybersecurity agency that works with Maine and every other state, has lost roughly one-third of its workforce since early 2025, Broadband Breakfast reported.
- AI chips. Council on Foreign Relations analysts found the H200 chips cleared for China are more than six times more powerful than the best U.S. AI chip available in China today.
Frequently Asked Questions About Susan Collins on China and national security
What is Susan Collins's record on China and national security under Trump?
Susan Collins voted to confirm Howard Lutnick and Jeffrey Kessler, whose Commerce Department licensed Nvidia AI chips for China in return for a share of the revenue. She voted to confirm Tulsi Gabbard, who cut the intelligence office that tracked foreign influence, and Pam Bondi, who disbanded the FBI's foreign influence task force. She also voted to confirm the homeland security secretary and an FCC commissioner whose agencies weakened defenses against Chinese hackers.
Did Susan Collins support selling Nvidia AI chips to China?
Susan Collins voted to confirm Howard Lutnick and Jeffrey Kessler, the officials whose department licensed Nvidia's chips for sale to China and in January 2026 published a new regulation permitting the sale of advanced AI chips to China. The record does not show a statement by Collins on the sales themselves.
Did Susan Collins vote to confirm Tulsi Gabbard?
Yes. Susan Collins voted to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence on February 12, 2025. In August 2025 Gabbard revoked the security clearances of 37 current and former U.S. officials, and she had earlier removed National Intelligence Council leaders after an assessment contradicted Trump's claims that Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro was overseeing the Tren de Aragua gang, Defense One reported.
Last updated: 2026-10-25