Making the Case: June 5, 2026

Susan Collins is working for Trump, not for Mainers

Jun 05, 2026

THE CASE

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) tries to pass herself off as a moderate but she hasn’t been there for Maine when it counts, and has been ineffective at pushing back on the worst of Trump’s harmful economic agenda. She may chair the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee and boast about voting 10,000 times, never once missing a Senate vote, but those votes and her influence have not helped Mainers afford healthcare, utility bills, and groceries. The One Big “Beautiful” Bill Act (OBBBA), which rewarded the ultrawealthy and shortchanged everyone else, only got to the Senate floor because Collins cast the deciding vote to advance it. She may have voted against final passage, but she delivered when the president and Republican leadership needed her. It passed anyway, with historic cuts to healthcare, energy, and food assistance. Her re-election bid could decide control of the U.S. Senate. Mainers understand, by wide margins, that their longtime senator is working to enact Trump’s agenda and help special interests, and not working for them.

KEY FACTS AND DATA

While Collins has gone from being in debt to being worth nearly $7 million during her last 14 years in Congress, Collins has done little to make Maine more affordable.
- In 2024, Collins’ portfolio rose by 77.5% which seems to explain her opposition to a stock trading ban by Members of Congress. [Bangor Daily News]
- In March, less than a week after Trump unilaterally dragged America into war with Iran, Collins voted against a resolution to end hostilities without congressional approval. Her first instinct was to give Trump unchecked power, four days after the bombing began. That has left Americans holding the bag, with much higher gas, diesel, and heating oil bills. Higher grocery prices. And economic chaos. Every subsequent vote to stop the war has failed, whether Collins voted yes or no. [Senate vote 46]
  - Inflation has spiked to 3.8%, largely thanks to the Trump administration’s Iran war and tariff policy. [WMUR]
- Farmers in Maine have struggled to afford diesel, fertilizer, and electricity to keep their farms and equipment running. [Bangor Daily News]
- The Iran war’s price shock hit Maine in heating oil costs, too, with prices spiking 41% through March from when the war started. About half of Maine uses heating oil to keep their homes warm. [Spectrum News]
- Because of the cuts in the OBBBA, 31,000 Mainers’ access to food assistance is threatened by the red tape the law imposes. And almost 166,000 kids are at risk of losing access to free school meals. [Center for American Progress]
Mainers have less access to healthcare and fewer rights, thanks to Susan Collins.
- Thanks to the OBBBA’s Medicaid cuts and the expiration of the ACA tax credits, 33,000 more people in Maine will become uninsured. Just the Medicaid cuts will result in 38 avoidable deaths in the state every year. [Center for American Progress]
- Due to the Medicaid cuts in the OBBBA, “Hundreds of Mainers are losing their primary care providers after the closure this week of Maine Family Planning’s three primary care practices in the region.” [Fox Bangor]
- Mainers who previously had coverage through Maine’s ACA marketplace see the higher premium costs and are dropping coverage. During open enrollment, over 8,500 people cancelled their health plans, and 3,500 blamed unaffordability or another reason, which suggests they became uninsured. [CoverME report]
- In 2018, Collins was the deciding vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, who then went on to join the 5-4 majority in the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. She continues to rubber-stamp anti-choice Trump judicial nominees. [Rolling Stone]
Mainers aren’t fooled about their senior senator.
- A poll released yesterday found that Collins has a 36% favorability rating, while 53% view her unfavorably. Trump’s approval rating in Maine sits at 39% and 62% view him unfavorably. Seventy percent of Mainers think the country is on the wrong track. [UMass Lowell]
- Collins is the second-most unpopular senator in the country, with 54% of Mainers viewing her unfavorably and 41% favorably. The only senator who is less popular in their state than Collins is Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY). [Morning Consult]