BATH, Maine — U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King said Thursday during a tour at Bath Iron Works that they’ll work together to pressure the Trump administration and Congress to order more U.S. Navy ships built at the Maine naval yard.
But the independent King and Republican Collins remain divided over a potential war powers resolution to reassert Congress’ authority and rein in President Donald Trump’s war against Iran. The conflict is under a tenuous two-week ceasefire but has killed more than 1,000 civilians, heightened tensions in the Middle East, rattled the economy worldwide and spiked Americans’ gas prices.
The contrasting viewpoints come as many Democrats called for Trump’s removal earlier this week, while Collins — who is seeking a sixth term in November — offered some critique of Trump’s inflammatory threats to destroy Iranian civilian infrastructure. Many war experts, international leaders and Collins’ critics have gone further, saying such strikes would amount to war crimes.
With Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, calling on the Senate to again vote on a strengthened war powers resolution next week, Collins suggested it’s too early to get on board with Democrats in such a move, while King argued “the war was illegal from the start.”
“The president has an inherent power to defend the country from an imminent threat,” King told reporters outside the Bath shipyard. “There was no imminent threat from Iran.”
Standing next to Collins — who faces sharp criticism on foreign policy and the war from potential Democratic challengers Graham Platner and Gov. Janet Mills — King said he considered it an “abdication of our duty to stand by and watch a president unilaterally take the country to war.”
He said U.S.-Israeli actions in Iran have cost taxpayers up to $2 billion a day and 13 American servicemembers’ lives along with thousands killed or wounded in the Middle East — all “without consulting the American people” and without “a single public hearing” on Capitol Hill.
King added that the Strait of Hormuz was open before the conflict began more than 40 days ago, and the net result of the war “may be a worse situation than when it started,” with Iran controlling the critical shipping lane.
King in recent months has backed efforts to reassert congressional authority that Collins — despite critiquing Trump’s inflammatory language — has so far rejected along with most other Republicans. U.S. House Republicans on Thursday blocked Democrats’ latest attempt to end the war through a resolution.
“The cease fire is in its very initial stages,” Collins said Thursday. “It has been messy, but I think there are going to be serious talks slated to begin on Saturday, mediated by Pakistan. My hope has always been this would be a brief but successful conflict that would eliminate ballistic missiles Iran uses as a shield for nuclear enrichment.”
Collins, a longtime supporter of Israel who backed Trump’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities last year, has previously voted for war powers resolutions involving Iran in 2020, Venezuela earlier this year, Yemen in 2018 and Libya in 2011. But she said the president still has a window with “inherent abilities” to conduct military actions.
She said she would not vote in favor of extending the conflict past 60 days unless there were dramatic changes in circumstances — citing the threshold for when a president’s military actions must end unless Congress declares war, per the 1973 War Powers Act.
She also said she would not vote in favor of using ground troops, with the only exception being for rescue missions.
Pressed on whether she thinks Trump is fit for office, she said, “That’s not a question that I’ve been asking.”
Collins added that while Hezbollah remains a threat to Israel and the U.S., the ceasefire would be stronger if it included Lebanon, which has continued to face attacks from Israel. Iran has reportedly accused the U.S. of violating the pause on hostilities.
King and Collins were unified, however, in saying the president’s recent budget request should have included more than one guided-missile destroyer set for construction in Bath.
Both senators, who met Thursday with Adm. Daryl Caudle, the U.S. chief of naval operations, said more ships are needed for national security, in part to keep pace with China, which has amassed a fleet of nearly 400 warships. They also pressed for long-term multi-ship contracts, saying Maine’s shipyard workforce, defense and associated industries need a steady construction schedule.