Maine Democrat Graham Platner said U.S. Sen. Susan Collins has aligned herself with President Donald Trump and the interests of wealthy people.
Collins, a Republican, “says she is bipartisan but she’s only bipartisan when it doesn’t matter,” a June 17 Platner ad said.
The ad cited several examples of what it said were Collins’ policy positions. For this fact-check, we’re focusing on the ad’s statement that Collins “even sided with Trump, giving billionaires and corporations a handout, paid for by cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.”
The ad refers to Trump’s signature tax and spending legislation, the One Big Beautiful Bill, but it misrepresents Collins’ vote. Collins voted against it, in part because of Medicaid cuts.
Collins voted against Trump’s second-term tax bill
Platner’s campaign pointed us to Collins’ June 28, 2025, vote on a motion to advance the One Big Beautiful Bill and included articles that showed she rejected the legislation on final passage.
The ad doesn’t mention the bill by name but cites an article with a headline that says Collins and Sen. Josh Hawley, two key holdouts, “will support advancing GOP megabill.”
The article said that Collins planned to vote in favor of a procedural motion but wouldn’t necessarily vote for the bill.
“I am planning to vote for the motion to proceed,” Collins said at the time. “Generally, I give deference to the majority leader’s power to bring bills to the Senate floor. Does not in any way predict how I’m going to vote on final passage. That’s going to depend on whether the bill is substantially changed. There are some very good changes that have been made in the latest version but I want to see further changes and I will be filing a number of amendments.”
Collins voted in support of several amendments, including Democratic ones, to protect Medicaid. When those efforts failed, she voted against the bill’s passage.
Collins said she supported tax relief but primarily voted against the bill because of “the harmful impact it will have on Medicaid, affecting low-income families and rural health care providers like our hospitals and nursing homes.”
Ancor, a network of providers for people with disabilities, gave Collins an award for protecting Medicaid, citing her vote against the legislation.
Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Rand Paul of Kentucky also voted with Democrats against the bill. Vice President JD Vance broke the tie vote in the Senate, and Trump signed it into law July 4.
Bill’s tax cuts carried more benefits for the rich
The legislation provided tax benefits for people of varying incomes, but wealthier taxpayers came out ahead compared with lower- and middle-income taxpayers.
The Tax Foundation found the law’s tax changes would increase after-tax incomes across the spectrum in 2025 and 2026, ranging from a 0.8% increase for the bottom 20% of taxpayers to 1.8% for the top 20%. That finding includes the new tax cuts and extending the cuts from Trump’s 2017 tax law.
By 2034, the bottom 20% of earners will see a net reduction in post-tax income after accounting for the 2029 expiration of new tax deductions and the law’s tighter rules for tax credits, said Garrett Watson, the Tax Foundation’s policy analysis director.
Some provisions temporarily help people earning low to moderate incomes, such as the tax exclusion on some tipped income.
Legislation cut Medicaid and SNAP, including in Maine
The One Big Beautiful Bill made historic cuts to safety net programs including Medicaid, the state-federal health care program for low-income people, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as food stamps. It also tightened work requirements for both programs.
Ian Yaffe, director of the Maine Office for Family Independence that operates the state’s SNAP program, told the Portland Press Herald that Maine has seen a sustained decrease in SNAP enrollment since August 2025. As of April, the number of Mainers receiving SNAP benefits had dropped by about 13,000.
KFF projected that about 28,000 Mainers will become uninsured because of Medicaid changes. So far, enrollment in Medicaid in Maine dipped slightly. However, the largest changes to the program take effect in 2027 so drops are likely to accelerate next year.
Collins has offered some praise for the bill she voted against, including legislation that authorized the Rural Health Transformation Program.
Our ruling
Platner said Collins “sided with Trump, giving billionaires and corporations a hand-out, paid for by cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.”
Collins voted on a motion to proceed on the One Big Beautiful Bill but warned that without substantial changes she would reject the legislation. When those changes didn’t occur, she voted against its passage.
The ad tells voters that Collins took action to harm Medicaid. But when Collins voted against the bill, she cited Medicaid cuts as a reason. A group cited her vote when it gave her an award for leadership on Medicaid.
We rate this statement False.
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This story originally appeared on PolitiFact
