Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) on Sunday recounted the night last summer when Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) voted against a GOP repeal of ObamaCare with an iconic thumbs-down gesture on the Senate floor.

Collins, appearing on CNN’s "State of the Union," said that she and Sen. Lisa Murkowski Lisa Ann MurkowskiOVERNIGHT ENERGY: House passes sweeping clean energy bill | Pebble Mine CEO resigns over secretly recorded comments about government officials | Corporations roll out climate goals amid growing pressure to deliver The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - Trump previews SCOTUS nominee as 'totally brilliant' Abortion stirs GOP tensions in Supreme Court fight MORE (R-Alaska), the other two Republicans to vote no, crossed the Senate floor that night to discuss the vote with McCain while he was still determining how to vote. Collins said McCain was struggling with his vote.

“And all of a sudden, he pointed to the two of us and said, ‘You two are right.’ And that’s when I knew he was going to vote no,” she said.

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Collins noted that McCain was then approached by Vice President Pence, who was sent to lobby McCain to support the measure.

“But once John McCain John Sidney McCainAnalysis: Biden victory, Democratic sweep would bring biggest boost to economy The Memo: Trump's strengths complicate election picture Mark Kelly: Arizona Senate race winner should be sworn in 'promptly' MORE made up his mind about something, there was no shaking him,” Collins said. “And I knew he would be there on the final vote. And again it was an example of his determination to do what he thought was right.”

McCain’s was the decisive vote that killed Senate Republicans' last-ditch attempt to repeal parts of the Affordable Care Act.

McCain, who had served in the Senate since 1987, died Saturday at 81. His family announced Friday that he had chosen to discontinue treatment for an aggressive form of brain cancer. His death has sparked an outpouring of tributes from both Republicans and Democrats.