President Donald Trump speaks to reporters from his Mar-a-Lago estate on Thanksgiving, Nov. 27, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)
"I didn't talk to her last night, but I'm really glad to see her on. It's not a surprise to me. She's supported unions on certain issues in the past, so she's obviously a very important senator," said Golden, who worked for Collins before coming to Congress himself.
He did say he spoke with "a few" senators after the bill passed but added, "the real push is gonna be coming in the days and weeks ahead."
And Golden is not lobbying senators alone — he said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., a moderate Republican who championed the bill in the House, is working alongside him.
Fox News Digital reached out to Fitzpatrick’s office for comment.
"As you probably saw, it was a long process in the House, so you’ve got to stay dogged and be patient. It's important to do it in a way that's bipartisan, to create space for members of both parties to work together," Golden said. "I made sure all along that the Republican co-sponsors of the bill were comfortable with our messaging and also the steps that we were taking, so it's gonna need to be just like that in the Senate, too."
Golden said he expected more Republican senators to sign on in the coming days.
Chair Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, prepares for a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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Collins, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Golden have a relationship that dates back to his first time in Washington, D.C., not as a lawmaker, but as a staffer for the longtime Maine senator. They’re also both known to buck their respective parties.
Just before Golden’s successful vote, Collins joined Senate Democrats to back their three-year extension of expiring Obamacare subsidies.
But Warner’s bill has sat in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, chaired by Sen. Rand Paul, for several months. Whether it survives committee is unclear, given that Paul has introduced several right-to-work bills over the years.
Republican opponents of the bill have said federal workers' unions are not the same as labor unions in the private sector, arguing that collective bargaining is a different scenario when working against Americans' own elected officials rather than for-profit companies.
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-democrat-pushes-senate-reverse-trump-federal-union-order-after-gop-revolt-20-republicans