For my part, it's clear that the president can send up a nominee -- regardless of where he is before he leaves office, it is the duty of the Senate, under the Constitution, to give our advice and give our consent or withhold our consent. I believe we should follow the regular order and give careful consideration to any nominee that the president may send to the Senate.

Susan Collins

Susan Margaret Collins is an American politician who currently serves as the senior United States Senator from Maine. A member of the Republican Party, Collins has served in the Senate since 1997, and has served as the ranking member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging in and previously as the Chair of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security from 2003 to 2007. Born in Caribou, Maine, Collins is a graduate of St. Lawrence University. Beginning her career as a staff assistant for Senator William Cohen in 1975, Collins later became the staff director of the Oversight of Government Management Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security in 1981. She was then appointed as the Commissioner of the Maine Department of Professional and Financial Regulation by Governor John R. McKernan, Jr. in 1987. In 1992 she was appointed by President George H.W. Bush as the director of the Small Business Administration's regional office in Boston. Staying in Massachusetts, Collins became that state's Deputy State Treasurer in 1993. After moving back to Maine in 1994, Collins became the Republican nominee for Governor in the 1994 general election.

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