Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said Friday that she has "serious objections" to President Donald Trump's first budget blueprint, which proposes massive cuts to health, education and other programs.
The president's budget would continue or build upon many of the cuts already attempted by his Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. It proposes cutting $163 billion from discretionary spending, a nearly 23% reduction. But some agencies would be hit much harder, such as proposed 50% cuts at the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Science Foundation, according to NPR and other news reports from Washington.
Presidential budget proposals are often referred to as blueprints because Congress makes the final decision on spending levels, led by the Senate and House appropriations committees. As chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Collins holds one of the most influential positions in Congress on spending.
"This request has come to Congress late, and key details still remain outstanding," Collins said in a statement. "Based on my initial review, however, I have serious objections to the proposed freeze in our defense funding given the security challenges we face and to the proposed funding cuts to — and in some cases elimination of — programs like LIHEAP, TRIO, and those that support biomedical research. Ultimately, it is Congress that holds the power of the purse."
Collins said the committee plans to hold an aggressive schedule of hearings with Trump administration officials on the budget.
To date, Republican leaders in Congress have done little to assert that "power of the purse" as Trump and his DOGE team attempt to freeze billions of dollars in federal funding, fire thousands of federal employees and eliminate entire programs created by Congress.
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat from Maine's 1st District who serves on the House Appropriations Committee, called the White House plan a "reckless budget proposal (that) prioritizes extremist ideology over the public good." Pingree blasted the plans to slash funding to the EPA, the National Institutes of Health, the heating-assistance program known as LIHEAP and enforcement at the Internal Revenue Service.
"This isn’t fiscal responsibility," Pingree said in a statement. "It’s fiscal madness. It won’t do anything to lower prices or improve services. It will only put more burden on state and local budgets that are already stretched to the max. Congress must decisively reject this dangerous roadmap of cultural destruction and corporate pocket-lining before irreparable damage is done to our country — and to the programs and institutions that benefit all Americans, rather than the powerful few."
Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, who represents Maine's more rural and right-leaning 2nd District, was less critical of the Trump administration's proposal.
"Right now, my focus is on opposing the GOP’s reconciliation plan to fund tax cuts for the wealthy by slashing health care for my constituents and running up the deficit," Golden said in a statement. "Looking ahead to the president’s FY 2026 budget request, I can’t co-sign a plan to eliminate LIHEAP, which would leave tens of thousands of Maine households in the cold. However, there are other areas where we may be aligned; For example, I support in principle the president’s proposals to increase funding for law enforcement at our border and in our international trade. These are policy priorities I could support."
