Jul. 1—Sen. Susan Collins on Tuesday voted against President Donald Trump’s marquis budget bill that would cut $1 trillion in health care and food assistance while strengthening border security and extending tax cuts that disproportionately benefit wealthy Americans.
Collins was one of three Republicans to vote against the bill, which included a $5 trillion increase to the debt limit. But her opposition was not enough to stop the bill. It led to a 50-50 tie, which was broken by Vice President JD Vance.
Collins’ support for the bill was in doubt Tuesday morning after the Senate voted against her amendment to increase taxes on the ultra-wealthy and build up an emergency fund for rural hospitals expected to lose billions of dollars in Medicaid funding.
Prior to the final vote, Collins told reporters in Washington, D.C. that she continues to have “serious reservations” about the bill. They include proposed cuts to Medicaid, which provides insurance for about 400,000 Maine residents, or one out of over four Mainers.
“I truly don’t know what’s going to happen,” Collins said Tuesday. “I have some serious reservations about the bill. I’m going to wait until we’re done (to) know what direct direction we’re going in before announcing my decision.”
Collins, who is the only New England Republican in Congress, is up for reelection next year. And Democrats have already pounced on her decision to vote in support of advancing the bill over the weekend, despite concerns that it could force rural hospitals to reduce services or close altogether.
Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” seeks to extend his 2017 tax cuts, which predominantly benefited the wealthy and are set to expire at the end of the year, while increasing spending on national and border security and slashing safety net programs. The bill would cut about $1 trillion from Medicaid and food assistance and is expected to add more than $3 trillion to the national debt.
Collins voted over the weekend to advance the bill, helping it clear the a key procedural hurdle by a 51-49 vote, but she has not committed to supporting it. Her vote is among those being closely watched in the Senate.
Republicans hold 53 seats and can only afford to lose one more vote and still send the bill back to the House for additional consideration. Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Thom Tillis of North Carolina have already come out against the bill. Tillis announced he would not seek reelection.
Collins made her case on the Senate floor late Monday during a so-called vote-a-rama, where Democrats forced votes on a series of amendments, including several efforts to eliminate cuts to Medicaid, which is estimated to cause 11.8 million to lose their health insurance, including 60,000 Mainers.
Collins said her amendment would have doubled the $25 billion included in the bill to help rural hospitals cope with the cut in Medicaid and expand the list of eligible providers to include community health centers, nursing homes, ambulance services, skilled nursing facilities and others. The increase would have been funded by allowing Trump’s tax cuts to expire on the wealthiest Americans — families earning more than $50 million and individuals earning more than $25 million.
“Rural providers — especially rural hospitals and nursing homes — are under great financial strain right now, with many having recently closed and others at risk of closing,” Collins said. “When these facilities shut their doors, the people they serve are often left without access to health care. This amendment would help keep them open and caring for those who live in these rural communities.”
The Senate rejected the amendment by a 78-22 vote shortly after midnight. It was supported by 18 Republicans, including Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. U.S. Sen. Angus King, a Maine independent who caucuses with the Democrats, also supported the amendment.
Murkowski is also being closely watched and is under intense pressure from Senate leadership, who have tried to sweeten the deal by providing additional concessions for her home state, including exempting Alaska from having to pay a greater share of benefits provided under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Collins and Murkowski were the only Republicans to support an amendment from Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington that sought to eliminate a provision that would prohibit Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funding for health care services provided to low-income women. The amendment failed, 51-49.
King, meanwhile, has firmly opposed the bill, saying during a press conference last week that it was “the worst, most regressive and most harmful piece of legislation I have ever seen,” and that he had “no choice whatsoever but to vote ‘no’ on this bill.”
He reiterated his opposition in a floor speech over the weekend. He called on the Senate to kill the bill and draft a new one that maintains tax breaks for working families, while allowing those breaks to expire for people earning more than $400,000, which would eliminate the need for cuts to the safety net, including food assistance.
King said the bill could lead to the closures of up to five hospitals in Maine.
“All this damage to give a tax break to guys making a million bucks,” King said. “It is a shame. And it’s embarrassing to even be debating this bill.”
Republicans are hoping to meet a self-imposed deadline of sending the bill to Trump’s desk by Friday.
If approved, the budget would have to go back to the House, which passed its own version of the bill on June 22, with both Rep. Jared Golden, D-2nd District, and Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, opposed.
This story will be updated.
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