Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) explained her support for a bill to stop males from competing in women’s sports on Monday after Democrats stopped the bill from overcoming a filibuster despite unanimous support from Republicans who voted.

Sen. Collins stated during a press interview that she would never have considered voting against Republicans on the bill, despite her past willingness to cross party lines on various votes over the course of her five terms in office.

“I grew up in the era prior to Title IX, and girls did not have sports opportunities. This past weekend I watched with great pride the high-school championship in basketball with the girls’ team from my hometown being triumphant, and I couldn’t help but wonder if they had a biological male who identified as, transgender playing on the opposite team, would they still have won,” said Collins.

“I just think this is a matter of fairness, safety, and giving girls and young women the opportunity to excel in sports,” she added.

Collins mentioned that despite her position on transgender athletes in sports, she believes that transgender-identifying people should be treated with respect.

The interview came after the Senate voted to invoke “cloture” on Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, which would end a filibuster on the bill and force it into a full Senate vote.

Despite receiving 51 votes, cloture could not be invoked because it requires a three-fifths (60-vote) majority to overcome a filibuster.

Two Republicans and Two Democrats did not vote on the motion.

Senator Angus King (I-Maine), an independent who caucuses with Democrats, voted against the motion.

Democrats unanimously opposed the bill despite recent polling showing that 79 percent of Americans, and even 67 percent of Democrats and Democrat-leaning Americans, believe that men should not compete in women’s sports.

The vote came as Maine has become the national flashpoint for the high-profile issue of transgender athletes, after Gov. Janet Mills (D-Maine) vowed to resist an executive order from President Donald Trump that pulls federal education funding from states that continue to allow males in girls’ sports. Gov. Mills’ decision to ignore the order could cost Maine an estimated $280 million in federal funding as the state already faces an impending half-billion-dollar budget deficit.

State Rep. Laurel Libby (R-Auburn) is largely responsible for bringing Maine’s refusal to comply with the order to national attention. She has since been censured in the state’s Democrat-led House for posting a picture of a male standing victoriously over girls at a high school sporting event.

“Remember when progressives claimed that if President Trump won, he would somehow take away women’s rights? Well, @SenateDems just voted to rob women of their rights — during Women’s History Month. Absolutely disgraceful,” said Rep. Libby on X.