Susan Collins repeatedly opposed bans on congressional and insider stock trading while her stock portfolio grew nearly 80% in 2024. Collins violated her own reporting guidelines and improperly concealed her husband’s big pharma holdings. Collins’ husband held stocks in companies she oversaw and she ran from questions on her conflicts of interest.
Message: Collins profited from her career in office and blocked regulations on her backroom deals.
Collins Opposed A Ban On Congressional And Executive Stock Trading. According to the Bangor Daily News, “U.S. Sen. Susan Collins does not support her Republican colleague’s bill to ban lawmakers, presidents and vice presidents from trading stocks, while U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, likes the measure that a committee advanced Wednesday. The proposal from U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, has a carveout for President Donald Trump. It would apply to buying and selling stocks and other ‘covered investments,’ such as futures, cryptocurrencies, commodities and corporate bonds. Officials could still invest in mutual funds, exchange traded funds and Treasury bonds” [Bangor Daily News, 8/1/25]
Collins’ Stock Portfolio Was Worth Upwards Of $1.5 Million And Grew By 77.5% In 2024; Collins’ Portfolio Had The Eighth Best Growth Performance Among Members Of Congress. According to the Bangor Daily News, “Collins mirrored her past reports by saying her husband, Tom Daffron, a former Senate staffer who also ran a lobbying firm, owns all the couple’s stocks. The shares in companies such as Amazon, Microsoft and UnitedHealth Group were worth at least roughly $1.5 million, per the disclosure. The couple’s portfolio rose in value by about 77.5 percent in 2024, which put Collins eighth among members of Congress for growth, according to the Unusual Whales platform. The senator’s office has said over the years a third-party adviser makes Daffron’s investment decisions and that neither Collins nor Daffron are involved in the purchase or sale of stocks.” [Bangor Daily News, 8/1/25]
Collins Concealed Her Husband’s Purchase Of $50,000 In Pfizer Corporate Bonds And Violated The Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge Act Reporting Requirements She Authored. According to NOTUS, “Collins violated the disclosure provisions of a federal financial transparency law she helped write by failing to properly disclose her husband’s purchase of a pharmaceutical company corporate bond, a NOTUS review of congressional financial disclosures indicates. Collins’ husband, Thomas Daffron, purchased a Pfizer corporate bond worth from $15,001 to $50,000 on February 3, but Collins didn’t disclose the purchase to the Senate until Wednesday. In an email to NOTUS, Collins’ office acknowledged the late disclosure, which is a violation of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, a law passed in 2012 that Collins championed.” [NOTUS, 3/26/26]
Collins’ Senate Positions Created Oversight Opportunities On Pfizer And The Big Pharma Giant Spent More Than $10 Million Annually On Lobbying; Her Husband Held Up To $50,0000 In Pfizer Corporate Bonds. According to NOTUS, “Collins’ husband, Thomas Daffron, purchased a Pfizer corporate bond worth from $15,001 to $50,000 on February 3, but Collins didn’t disclose the purchase to the Senate until Wednesday. [...] Collins is a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. During recent months, Democratic and independent members of the committee, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, have named Pfizer in various statements about prescription drugs and health care. Collins is also a member of the Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security, which has jurisdiction over various health-related matters, including mental health, health care disparities and the Health Resources and Services Act. Pfizer routinely spends more than $10 million annually on federal-level lobbying efforts, according to federal data compiled by nonpartisan research organization OpenSecrets.” [NOTUS, 3/26/26]
Collins’s Husband Held Up To $200,000 In Defense Contractor Stocks; Collins Was Chairwoman Of The Appropriations Committee And She Previously Served As Ranking Member On The Defense Appropriations Committee. According to Sludge, “Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine)’s spouse holds between $50,000 and $100,000 worth of stock in defense contractor Amphenol, as well as up to $50,000 worth of stock in Boeing and up to $50,000 worth of RTX (formerly Raytheon), according to her Senate disclosure. Collins is currently the chair of the Appropriations Committee, and in the previous Congress was the ranking member of the Defense Appropriations subcommittee. Her spouse Thomas Daffron, a former Republican Senate chief of staff, was chief operating officer of lobbying firm Jefferson Consulting Group for almost a decade before his retirement.” [Sludge, 8/22/25]
Collins Ran From Questions Over Her Alleged Conflict Of Interest And Denied Knowledge Of Her Husband’s Stock Trading. Al Jazeera shared a video on Facebook, “98% of US lawmakers receive campaign donations from the arms industry, with dozens having investments in weapons companies. Hind Hassan asked senators Tim Kaine and Susan Collins about that apparent conflict of interest.” [Facebook, Al Jazeera English, 8/9/25]