Donald Trump

The Democratic governor laid out her concerns in a letter to the state's congressional delegation this week as the Senate continues work on the bill, which contains key aspects of President Trump's domestic agenda.

Wednesday's hearing was the first opportunity for members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which Collins leads, to question Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought about more than $9 billion that Trump wants to claw back from programs.

During the debate in the Maine House, one Republican lawmaker who was there in D.C. that day even suggested that police officers or other actors — not Trump supporters — incited the violence that day.

Bills that would rollback transgender rights and ban them from participating on girls' sports teams are receiving more scrutiny amid the Trump administration's lawsuit against Maine.

The two senators spoke during committee hearings where Cabinet secretaries fielded a variety of questions about the president's cost-cutting measures and policy priorities.

The Maine Republican, who is chairwoman of the budget-writing Senate Appropriations Committee, said the panel would hold an aggressive schedule of hearings on the White House's plan to cut more than $160 billion from federal programs.

During her first full hearing as committee chairwoman, Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine also said the Trump administration had "apparently little or no justification" for abruptly cancelling research grants, laying off scientists and threatening further cuts.

The rally was one of many that took place in more than a dozen towns across Maine and organized as part of a national day of action by groups across the state.

The governor told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" hosts that the president is using federal funding and other means to coerce the state to ignore a law that allows transgender athletes to compete on girls' sports teams.

It is rare that members of Maine's congressional delegation hold in-person "town hall" meetings. But the predominant theme from the left-leaning crowd at Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree's event was concern about the Trump administration's agenda.