Sen. Susan Collins, a longtime establishment Republican leader, broke her silence Wednesday on her health and the visible shaking that’s been the subject of serious questions.
The 73-year-old Maine Republican admitted that she has a “benign essential tremor” health condition that she has been on medication for the entirety of her nearly 30-year Senate career.
“What I have is an extremely common condition that is called a benign essential tremor,” Collins said. “I have had it for the entire time that I have served in the United States Senate. It has absolutely no impact on my ability to do my job or on how I feel each day.”
“The tremor is occasionally inconvenient, and sometimes the subject of cruel comments online, but it does not hinder my ability to work and, as I said, is something that I have lived with for decades,” Collins said.
The condition affects roughly one in five adults over 65 and causes visible trembling in her hands, head, and voice. It reportedly causes no mental decline, and is not associated with Parkinson’s disease or other serious neurological conditions.
Questions were raised over Collins health in February when she was shaking visibly in her re-election announcement video.
The timing of the disclosure is no accident.
Collins is fighting for a sixth term in what the nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates a toss-up — the most vulnerable Republican incumbent on the Senate map this cycle. Maine Gov. Janet Mills dropped out of the Democratic primary last week after polls showed her trailing controversial far-Left challenger Graham Platner.
Collins has beaten the odds before. She has won five terms in a state that has voted for Democratic presidential candidates throughout her entire political career. Whether Maine voters will give her a sixth is the question that will help determine control of the Senate.