A disgraced Republican congressman has outlined his plans to return to the political career he lost for insider trading—and explained why he needs to be back in the arena.
Chris Collins, 75, served as a representative for New York’s 27th congressional district from 2013 to 2019 until his egregious insider trading, some committed on the White House lawn, earned him a 26-month prison sentence after a prosecution by Donald Trump’s own Department of Justice.
Now he is planning a comeback, but claiming it is not about political power: He is simply feeling “lonely.” He would like to be invited to more fundraisers and—ideally—the president’s inner circle.
And he even has a target for where he could run, doing like many seniors from New York, and heading for Florida.
Collins outlined his plan on “The Financial Guys” podcast on Aug. 30 although his comments got little attention until they were posted on X by The Conservative Record.
In 2019, Collins resigned after pleading guilty to insider trading and lying to federal agents. He was serving on the board of Australian biotechnology company Innate Immunotherapeutics when he tipped his son and others off about a failed drug trial, preventing them from more than $768,000 in losses.
The 75-year-old politician was sentenced to 26 months in prison, but was granted a full pardon by Trump in Dec. 2020 after having served a little over two months in federal prison. Collins had been the first member of Congress to endorse Trump.
Since his release, Collins has taken up residence in Marco Island, Florida.
“But over time, you know, I have friends here and nobody was treating me like, quote, a felon, even though technically I am,” he said. “I did not leave on my terms, and my reputation was trashed.”
Collins lamented that he was feeling “lonely” because he was no longer invited to fundraisers and galas after his criminal conviction. The disgraced Republican predicted if he returned to politics, he would be welcomed back.
🚨SHOCKING AUDIO: Disgraced former New York Congressman Chris Collins admits he’s running for Congress in Southwest Florida to “reclaim his reputation” & get back to galas. LISTEN: pic.twitter.com/zlkrI10sK8
— The Conservative Record (@ConservRecord) September 22, 2025
“If I then retire as the congressman for Florida 19 in Marco Island and Naples, I think I would be welcomed then to serve on some of the, you know, the not-for-profit boards and hospital boards and being invited to the, you know, fundraisers and galas and be welcomed,” he said. “And that would be a great retirement. Because right now it’s kind of lonely.”
“You know, I’m not invited to any of those things because all I am is, you know, the former congressman who resigned in disgrace, convicted felon.”
The ex-politician believed that once he re-entered the political sphere, he would receive a warm welcome from Trump and other MAGA figures.
“I’d be accepted into his inner circle, I believe you know, with open arms,” he predicted.
Collins, who admitted to being a “disgrace, convicted felon” shared that he decided to return to politics after Republican Florida Congressman Byron Donalds announced he was running for governor.
“Yeah, well, when Byron Donalds announced he was running for governor…that piqued my interest,” Collins said. “And, you know, the more I thought about it, I was in a pretty bad space and a funk for about three years or longer, kind of wallowing in despair to a certain extent.”
In another radio interview with WBEN from June, the convicted felon expressed deep loyalty to Trump, said he wanted to be Trump’s “sidekick,” and plugged his book.
“I’d like to go back and be his sidekick if you will,” he admitted. “When my world catered and crumbled, and it’s in my book, I ended up in federal prison, he pardoned me on December 22 after 10 weeks, you know, of hell.”
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