U.S. Senator from Maine Susan Collins (R) is the most bipartisan Senator in the 118th Congress, according to a study released Monday by the Lugar Center and the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy.
The nonpartisan study, launched in 2014, ranks members of each Congress according to the degree to which Senators and Representatives work across party lines on pieces of legislation.
Sen. Collins, who previously led the Senate rankings for bipartisanship for eight consecutive years between 2013 and 2020, and placed second in the 117th Congress, retook the number one rank in 2023.
“Since the founding of the Bipartisan Index, no member of Congress has been more consistently faithful to the principles of bipartisanship than Senator Collins,” said Dan Diller, Policy Director of the Lugar Center. “She has topped the Senate Bipartisan Index rankings in 9 of the last 11 years, and she ranked first or second in the Senate for 13 straight years.
“Her top spot in the Senate Bipartisan Index in 2023 underscores her continuing devotion to good governance and her commitment to working across the aisle on behalf of her state and the country,” Diller said.
Collins was followed in the rankings by three Democrats: Sens. Gary Peter (Mich.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.) and Joe Manchin (W. Va.).
“I have long believed that Congress produces the best legislation when it engages in honest debate, considers alternate viewpoints, and incorporates ideas from both Republicans and Democrats,” Collins said Tuesday. “I commend the Lugar Center’s ongoing work to encourage civility in Congress, and I will continue my efforts to bring people together to address the challenges facing Maine and America.”
Maine Democratic U.S. Reps. Jared Golden and Chellie Pingree ranked 30th and 71st respectively, while independent Sen. Angus King ranked 17th in the Senate.
Freshman Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), who delivered the Republican response to President Joe Biden’s February 2024 State of the Union Address, was the lowest scoring Senator.
In the House, Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (Penn.) ranked highest for bipartisanship for the fifth consecutive year, and Rep. Jim Jordan, Judiciary Committee Chair and brief candidate for House Speaker last October, ranked lowest.
According to the Lugar Center and McCourt School, the results of their 2023 rankings show a slight increase in bipartisanship over previous years, but remain near record lows.
“In these deeply divided times, and with an increasing amount of misleading information online, we need tools like the Bipartisan Index more than ever — an evidence-based and nonpartisan approach for measuring how well policymakers work across the aisle to get things done,” McCourt School of Public Policy Dean Maria Cancian said Monday. “And while there is much room for improvement, I am encouraged to see some progress on cross-party collaboration.”
Democrats and Republicans have historically agreed on many ideas, so ‘bipartisan’ should not be taken as an indication that a policy is good.
The full current and historical bipartisan index rankings for members of Congress can be seen here.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="27927 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=27927">6 Comments
“Bipartisan” ? Is that what you call it when your billionaire radical leftist donors are controlling your puppet strings ? Oh…..learn something new every day.
“Bipartisan”? Means liberal and wishy washy!
She is not awake yet!
Bipartisan means Collins is the first one to cave to Democrat’s demands! Way to go Collins…we knew we could count on you! :/
Susan Collins is so bipartisan, working so closely with the the Dems has helped our country be so divided.
It’s only bipartisan when you agree with democrats.