For more than a decade, Susan Collins positioned herself as a defender of transparency in Washington — a supporter of efforts to crack down on insider trading by members of Congress. Now, she finds herself on the other side of that very law.

According to reporting from NOTUS journalist Dave Levinthal, Collins failed to disclose a financial transaction involving her husband within the legally required window, violating the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act — better known as the STOCK Act.

The transaction in question involved Collins’ husband, Thomas Daffron, who purchased a corporate bond from Pfizer valued between $15,001 and $50,000 on February 3. Under the law, members of Congress must disclose such trades within 45 days. Collins’ office filed the disclosure five days past that deadline.

Her spokesperson attributed the delay to a third-party financial advisor, saying Daffron does not personally direct his investments and that notification of the purchase came late. Still, the responsibility for timely disclosure ultimately falls on the lawmaker.

The penalty for such a violation is typically modest — a $200 fine — and often waived altogether for relatively minor delays. But the broader issue is less about the amount and more about the pattern.

Collins is far from alone. In recent years, dozens of lawmakers from both parties have been cited for late disclosures or similar violations, highlighting persistent gaps in enforcement of the STOCK Act. Critics argue the law lacks teeth, allowing members of Congress to sidestep consequences even as they oversee industries and agencies tied to their financial interests.

That tension is particularly notable in this case. Collins sits on Senate committees that oversee agencies connected to pharmaceutical regulation — including areas that directly affect companies like Pfizer.

The episode arrives at a politically sensitive moment.

Collins is heading into a competitive re-election race, with potential challengers including Janet Mills and progressive candidate Graham Platner. Ethics concerns, even minor ones, can quickly become amplified in such contests — especially when they appear to contradict a lawmaker’s own record.

More broadly, the incident adds fuel to a growing bipartisan push to ban members of Congress — and their families — from trading individual stocks altogether. Despite repeated proposals, such reforms have yet to gain enough traction to pass.

For now, Collins’ violation may carry only a small or even waived penalty. But politically, the cost could be harder to calculate — particularly when it involves a law she once helped champion.