In explaining her decision to vote against Pete Hegseth, the nominee who went on in any case to become U.S. secretary of defense, Sen. Susan Collins told NBC News that while she normally attempts to give “deference to presidents on their Cabinet choices,” each administration had “a few” that she found herself unable to support. “Pete Hegseth falls in that category,” Collins said.

Collins went on to explain her concerns about Hegseth’s inexperience when it came to large, complex organizations; the allegations of mismanagement leveled against him; and the extraordinary task, in 2025, facing the person tasked with the job.

Using words like “disturbed” and “unconvinced,” Collins singled out some of Hegseth’s vexing positions on women and his appetite for a clear-out of experienced personnel. Would there be blowback from the Trump camp in response to her choice? “There already is, there already is,” Collins answered with a smile. “And I’m sure there will be more. But I have to do what I think is right.”

Reached by the Press Herald last week, not three weeks later, Sen. Collins did not respond to questions about how she found Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be qualified to be the new secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — an individual whose own record on relevant matters is felt by many voters and medical professionals (and by this editorial board) to be disturbing and unconvincing.

We must assume, in giving Kennedy her vote, that the senator did what she thought was right. As long as the “how” remains unexplained, however, and in light of all the solid reasons to oppose Kennedy, it becomes harder and harder to push back on the suggestion that Sen. Collins’ deference to the president will only be suspended if the president’s candidate is already assured the votes.