Democrats could lose votes on a same-sex marriage bill because of their politics.
The Republican said that the climate deal could hurt bipartisan support.
The timing could not have been worse and it came out of the blue.
Democrats may be one step closer to declaring economic victory in the Senate, but one Republican is warning that their closed door dealings could have bipartisan consequences.
The bipartisan effort to pass a bill protecting same-sex marriage could be jeopardized by the climate deal struck by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin.
The timing could not have been worse according to Collins.
Democrats announced the deal on Thursday just hours after 17 Senate Republicans joined all 50 Democrats to approve a $52 billion bill to strengthen the US industry responsible for computer chips. McConnell had threatened to hold up the legislation if Democrats tried to advance their bills.
The budget reconciliation process requires only 50 Democratic votes to pass the economic legislation.
Collins told the outlet that it was an unfortunate move that destroyed the bipartisan efforts that are under way.
The Maine Republican is trying to shore up support for the Respect for Marriage Act after the House passed the legislation last week with support from all 220 Democrats. In order for the legislation to pass, 10 Republican votes are needed on top of all 50 Democrats.
The 1996 Defense of Marriage Act defined marriage as between a man and a woman. The law remained on the books even after the definition was struck down. Any state actor who fails to give full effect to an out-of-state marriage on the basis of sex, race, gender, or national origin would be barred from doing so.
Democrats immediately called for codifying same-sex marriage protections after the Supreme Court ruled against federal abortion rights. While Justice Samuel Alito's majority opinion said the case should not affect any other rights, conservative Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a concurring opinion suggesting that the court "reconsider" certain landmark decisions.
Collins thinks that support for the gay-marriage bill and a number of other bipartisan efforts could be in trouble.
There is less than a month left before lawmakers go on a break. She doesn't know if the Respect for Marriage Act will be pushed to the fall campaign season, but she plans to keep drumming up support for it.
Business Insider has an article on it.
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