“Sen. Susan Collins is chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, is one of the 17 senators on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and is a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.”
Attributed to Hugh Hewitt / Fox News (opinion)
Column states Collins holds these committee positions and uses them to justify her central role in guiding defense and appropriations decisions.
What the proof shows
Three separate assertions in the Fox News column are mostly correct: Susan Collins is the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee (official committee pages and Collins’s Senate press release show she became Chair on Jan. 7, 2025); she is a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (the SSCI members roster on the committee’s official site lists “Susan M. Collins”); and she is a member of the Senate HELP Committee (the HELP Committee’s official members page lists her). The column’s numeric claim that she is “one of the 17 senators on” the Intelligence Committee is inaccurate or misleading: the SSCI’s official members page shows 15 named members on the public roster as of July 4, 2026, and the committee’s rules note additional ex officio appointments (leadership and Armed Services chairs), which can affect how one counts ‘members.’
Corrected version
Sen. Susan Collins is Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, is a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (listed on the SSCI roster), and is a member of the Senate HELP Committee. (The SSCI’s public roster lists 15 named members as of July 4, 2026; ex officio assignments described in the committee rules can affect total counts.)
Automated evidence confidence: 0%
References and proof
Every link was reachable when published. Each proof point states how that source bears on the claim.
Senator Collins Officially Becomes Chair of Appropriations Committee ↗
U.S. Senator Susan Collins (official press release)Senator Susan Collins officially became Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Committee Members | Senate Select Committee on Intelligence ↗
U.S. Senate Select Committee on IntelligenceSusan M. Collins - ME (listed on the Committee Members roster).
Home | Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions ↗
U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP)Majority Members (by Rank) ... 2. Susan Collins (R - ME) (listed on Members roster).
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