Augusta, Maine – In case you’ve missed it, Mainers have been criticizing Susan Collins for failing to use her seniority in the Senate to protect Maine from the Trump administration’s disastrous cuts to federal funding and the GOP’s attempt to rip health care away from 51,000 Mainers.
Mainers like political scientist Amy Fried point to Collins’ 2020 campaign promise that Maine would benefit from her seniority in the Senate and position as chair of the Appropriations Committee.
Here’s what they’re saying:
University of Maine Political Scientist, Amy Fried: “Her big claim was ‘I will be able to help the state of Maine because someday I’m going to be chair of the Appropriations Committee,’” Fried said. “Well, if the Appropriations Committee isn’t deciding what money goes where, then that just renders that whole thing null and void.”
Mainer Shawn Yardley: “In 2020, [Collins] told us that her seniority would protect us, that chairing Appropriations would give her the power to defend Maine's interests. Her party now controls the White House and both chambers of Congress, but the cuts and the cruelty keep coming.”
Mainer Alex Urquhart : “Sen. Collins has seniority and influence. In a closely divided Senate, Collins can signal that cutting [clean energy] credits is a non-starter... Instead, she has been silent on an urgent issue that will directly hurt Maine ratepayers, economic development and jobs.”
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