Collins voted against extending ACA tax credits, but takes credit for a deal that gives Republican Senators “a big payday.”

Augusta, Maine — In case you missed it, Susan Collins is taking a “victory lap” around her role in advancing a deal to reopen the government that:

  • Did not extend ACA tax credits,

  • Did not include a Republican-backed provision aimed at reigning in the Trump administration’s efforts to unilaterally rescind federal funding,

  • But does include a provision that allows Republican Senators to sue for $500,000 if their data was obtained as part of the January 6th investigation.

In addition to not including an extension for ACA tax credits in the deal to reopen the government, Collins repeatedly voted against a bill that would have prevented premiums from skyrocketing.

The latest report comes after the Bangor Daily News reported last week “Susan Collins now wants to repeal part of the shutdown deal she took credit for crafting.”

Read more:

American Journal News: Collins failed to protect Mainers’ health care. She took a victory lap anyway.
By Jesse Valentine
November 24, 2025

  • Maine Sen. Susan Collins touted her role in ending the government shutdown, even though the final bill did not include any of her legislative priorities.

  • Collins leads the Appropriations Committee that crafted the continuing resolution (CR) to reopen the government. She is the only Senate Republican to endorse extending Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) subsidies and reining in President Donald Trump’s spending cuts, but the CR did not include these provisions, and Collins did not join with Democrats who were pushing to add them.

  • “I was responsible for not only putting the bill together, but also managing it on the Senate floor,” Collins said in a Nov. 18 radio interview. “Dealing with proposals to change it, negotiating not only with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, but also with the House of Representatives and the administration.”

  • The 43-day shutdown was the longest in American history. It began on Oct. 1 when Democrats in Congress refused to back any funding bill that did not meet an array of demands, including the extension of Obamacare subsidies that help 65,000 Mainers afford health care.

  • Democrats also demanded the Trump administration be blocked from withholding any funding that was already approved by Congress. Since January, the White House has rescinded billions in appropriated funds, including $323,000 to study rural health care access in Maine.

  • Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro told NOTUS that there was a bipartisan proposal to block future rescissions and that she personally lobbied Collins and others on the Appropriations Committee to include it in the CR. The proposal never saw the light of day.

  • The CR did, however, include a provision that would have allowed Senate Republicans to sue the Justice Department for $500,000 if their phone records were seized during the investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Roll Call reported that Collins personally added the provision at the behest of South Dakota Sen. John Thune.

  • A bipartisan vote in the House stripped the provision from the final CR.

 

See more: What They’re Saying: Mainers Protest, Slam Collins for Not Extending ACA Tax Credits; ICYMI: Impacted Mainers Discuss Skyrocketing Insurance Rates After Collins Refused to Extend ACA Tax Credits; New Video: Collins Called ACA Tax Credit Extension a “Poison Pill”; MDP Statement on Susan Collins Refusing to Stave Off Skyrocketing Insurance Rates; ICYMI: Mainers Protest Susan Collins as She Refuses to Extend ACA Tax Credits; What They’re Saying: “Mainers Face Steep Premiums on ACA Marketplace with Expiration of Enhanced Tax Credits”; What Mainers are Saying: “Susan Collins Refuses to Protect Our Health Care”; What They’re Watching: Mainers Share Personal Stories of How Skyrocketing Insurance Rates Will Impact Their Lives & Health; What Mainers are Saying About Rising Insurance Premiums: “I am Scared,” “What Are We Going to Do,” People “Are Going to Die”; What Mainers are Saying: Rising Insurance Premiums are “Catastrophic”; ICYMI: “Mainers to Collins: Prioritize Our Health, Renew ACA Tax Credits”; ICYMI: Impacted Mainers Discuss Skyrocketing Insurance Rates As Collins Refuses to Protect Mainers’ Health Care; While Mainers Face Health Care Cliff, Collins Gets MAGA Swag Bag at Trump “Unity” Lunch; What They’re Saying: Maine Democrats, Advocates Criticize Collins, “Warn [of] Health Care Increases” [Maine Morning Star]; ICYMI: Maine Dems, Health Care Leaders Call Out Collins for Failing To Protect Mainers’ Health Care; What Mainers are Watching and Reading: Thanks to Collins, Mainers “Could See Their Premiums Skyrocket”; Maine Beacon: Susan Collins accepts thousands from insurers while health costs soar for Mainers

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