Senator Susan Collins, the newly appointed chair of the Senate appropriations committee, holds significant power over federal spending. Despite her history of breaking with Trump, Collins has been largely ineffective in wielding her authority as Trump and Elon Musk have bypassed her committee to make budget decisions. Collins has faced challenges from Trump’s budget cuts to her home state and has been criticized for not utilizing her committee’s power to push back. While Collins has the potential to challenge Trump and Musk by leveraging her committee’s authority, she has shied away from confrontation, fearing repercussions from the Republican leadership. Recently, Collins has begun to push back against Trump by criticizing funding cuts to biomedical research and voting against Trump’s global tariffs. She now faces the opportunity to challenge Trump and Musk further in the upcoming federal budget approval process. However, some critics doubt the sincerity of Collins’ opposition to Trump, citing instances where she supported Trump’s nominees despite expressing concerns. With her political career at stake in the face of low approval ratings and mounting backlash from voters, Collins navigates a delicate balance between loyalty to the Republican base and appeasing Democrats and independents in Maine. Despite her challenges, political analysts refrain from prematurely counting Collins out, noting her history of securing victories after facing adversity.