GOP Sen. Susan Collins Received $50K From AM General-Linked Donors After Her Committee Helped Steer $345M to Its Army Vehicles

Republican Sen. Susan Collins's fundraising committees received $50,000 (£37,691) from AM General-linked donors shortly after Congress approved $345 million (£260.89 million) for additional Army Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) procurement, despite the Army having announced plans to cancel future procurement of what it described as 'excess ground vehicles' including the JLTV.

The contributions came in the weeks after Congress completed passage of the defence appropriations package on 3 February, with fundraising committees associated with Collins and other appropriators receiving contributions from AM General employees, its employee political action committee, and executives linked to its owner, KPS Capital Partners.

Collins's office has denied that she played any role in the decision to restore funding for the vehicles. Her spokesperson said the final decision was made by the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate defence appropriations subcommittees. In the Senate, the panel is chaired by Sen. Mitch McConnell, with Sen. Chris Coons serving as ranking member.

McConnell's campaign and leadership committees received no contributions from AM General or KPS Capital employees during the election cycle, according to the FEC records reviewed. Coons's campaign committee, meanwhile, received $2,500 (£1,884) from the AM General employee PAC on 5 March.

Collins faces a closely fought re-election battle in November against Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson. Recent polls have produced mixed results, with some showing narrow leads for Jackson, others putting Collins ahead and some finding the race tied.

US Army Had Moved to Halt JLTV Purchases

AM General is best known for producing the Humvee, but the company also manufactures the more heavily armoured JLTVs.

In 2023, the Army selected AM General for a follow-on contract covering up to 20,682 JLTVs, along with thousands of trailers, over an initial five-year ordering period. The company was ramping up production at its Indiana facility when Army Secretary Dan Driscoll announced in May 2025 that the service would cancel future JLTV procurement.

The move was part of the Army Transformation Initiative, which called for eliminating waste and obsolete programmes and identified the JLTV among 'excess ground vehicles'. Congress, however, moved to continue funding procurement.

In June 2025, the House Appropriations Committee's defence subcommittee proposed hundreds of millions of dollars for additional JLTV procurement. By the time the final spending package became law on 3 February, Congress had provided $345 million for Army JLTVs despite the service's earlier plan to end future procurement.

A joint House-Senate explanatory statement questioned the Army's decision, saying it had provided 'inadequate supporting analysis'. Lawmakers also raised concerns that reducing Army procurement could increase the per-unit cost of JLTVs required by the Marine Corps.

Collins Campaign Under Separate Scrutiny

The AM General-linked contributions come as Collins faces separate scrutiny over a ProPublica investigation into an FBI inquiry involving allegations made by former defence contractor and campaign donor Martin Kao about an alleged pay-to-play arrangement.

Collins's office has denied any pay-to-play arrangement and said she fully cooperated with the FBI. No one working for Collins was charged. The FBI has said a previous investigation 'ultimately found nothing implicating Senator Collins or Senator Collins' campaign,' although ProPublica said that response did not address questions about the later phase of the inquiry prompted by Kao's cooperation. There is no indication that the AM General-linked contributions were connected to that matter.

The AM General-linked contributions represented only a small portion of the $15.8 million (£11.9 million) Collins had raised during the election cycle through July, according to data compiled by OpenSecrets.

People associated with government contractors also feature prominently among contributors linked to Collins's committees. KPS Capital Partners, which owns AM General, ranked sixth among organisations associated with contributions to Collins's campaign committee and leadership PAC, according to OpenSecrets data.

AM General-Linked Donations Extended Across Congress

Collins was not the only senior appropriator whose campaign committees received contributions associated with AM General.

Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., a senior member of the House defence appropriations panel, received $14,285 (£10,767) in contributions from AM General and KPS Capital employees during the election cycle. The AM General employee PAC also gave a combined $20,000 (£15,076) to Calvert for Congress and his leadership PAC.

Most of the AM General-linked contributions to Calvert came in the weeks immediately after Congress passed the appropriations bill.

Elsewhere, a fundraising committee associated with Sen. Todd Young received $36,000 (£27,137) from AM General or KPS Capital employees, while AM General's employee PAC gave another $10,000 (£7,538) to his main campaign committee.

Sen. Jim Banks's leadership PAC also received a combined $14,375 (£10,836) from the AM General employee PAC and CEO John Chadbourne. Rep. Frank Mrvan received $33,050 (£24,915) from AM General or KPS Capital employees, and another $10,000 from the AM General employee PAC.

While the contributions alone do not establish any connection between campaign donations and the JLTV funding decision, their timing has drawn fresh scrutiny to the relationship between defence contractors, campaign finance, and lawmakers involved in federal spending decisions.