SKOWHEGAN — U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King both refused to take questions from the media after a public appearance Monday at New Balance’s central Maine factory, an unusual development for two often-accessible elected officials.

Collins and King each delivered remarks at an event celebrating the expansion of a new shoemaking facility and touting American-made products, but neither stopped for a small gaggle of assembled reporters after it ended.

The senators’ refusal to answer questions from the media comes as the Trump administration has ramped up its assault on free speech in the wake of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

A spokesperson for King, an independent who caucuses and often votes with Democrats, said New Balance organized the event and did not include a press briefing.

Blake Kernen, a spokesperson for Collins’ office, later said the senator had another visit she had to attend at a local school.

“You are correct. We almost always do availabilities after the events,” she told a reporter. “The schedule ended up being way tighter than we planned for, and that’s on us.”

As Collins again mounts a reelection campaign with national significance, transparency has become a sticking point for both her opponents and constituents, especially with so much happening in the Trump administration.

Just hours before the event in Skowhegan, one of Collins’ Democratic opponents, Graham Platner, issued a statement announcing his statewide town hall tour that specifically called out the Republican senator for “not (holding) a true town hall meeting since Bill Clinton was president.”

Last month, protesters shouted “Shame!” at Collins during an event in Searsport and heckled her for not holding town halls. A citizens’ group in Portland held an “empty chair” town hall this spring after Collins declined an invitation to speak at the event.

“The people of Maine deserve to have a senator who listens to their concerns and takes their questions,” Platner said in a statement Monday. “Not someone like Susan Collins who is cloistered away in her DC office spending her time talking to lobbyists and rich donors.”

James Davis, chairman of New Balance, has been a major donor to Republican super PACs and candidates across the country, including $1 million this year to Pine Tree Results, a political action committee formed to support Collins.

Gov. Janet Mills, who is also weighing a run for U.S. Senate, has held numerous public events across Maine in recent weeks and has answered questions of reporters each time, notably using press gaggles to tease a potential campaign.

Collins, who has served five terms, has faced scrutiny from both sides of the aisle as her reelection campaign has warmed up. President Donald Trump urged his supporters to “vote the exact opposite” of Collins following her ‘no’ vote on Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill.”

Democrats, however, believe Collins’ seat is vulnerable and see flipping it as key to gaining control of Congress in next year’s midterms. The primary to determine her challenger is shaping up to be a battle for the future of the party, as outsiders like Platner push a more progressive platform while party insiders are nudging Mills to represent more moderate Democrats.

Several other Democratic candidates have entered the race as well, including Maine Beer Company co-owner Dan Kleban, former congressional staffer Jordan Wood, former civilian contractor for the U.S. Air Force Daira Smith-Rodriguez and former US AID administrator David Costello.