19 hours Ago
Several members of Maine’s congressional delegation will be in the spotlight this week as lawmakers try to pass a temporary funding bill to avoid a government shutdown. Lawmakers have until midnight Friday to pass a continuing resolution to keep money flowing to federal agencies Failure to do so will cause the government to shut down nonessential services. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
, unveiled a proposal over the weekend that would increase defense spending by $6 billion and cut non-military spending by $13 billion, rather than continuing current spending levels. That proposal would keep the government running through September, giving lawmakers more time to pass broader spending bills. The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the proposal Tuesday night and needs a simple majority to advance the plan to the Senate.
House Republicans could pass the bill with its razor-thin majority, but any defections would require Democratic votes. And any spending bill passed in the House will need Democratic support in the Senate to reach the 60 votes needed to enact it in the upper chamber. The dynamic is putting three moderate members of Maine’s congressional delegation — Republican Sen.
Susan Collins, independent Sen. Angus King and Rep. Jared Golden, D-2nd District — at the center of the action as both sides count votes.
House Democratic leaders are urging their members to oppose the bill, which they describe as a partisan proposal that would empower efforts by President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk to reduce the federal workforce and slash spending without the approval of Congress. They also highlighted cuts to rental assistance, infrastructure and other areas. “Republicans walked away from bipartisan negotiations to pursue a partisan, full-year continuing resolution (CR), which is a blank check for Elon Musk and President Trump to continue their campaign of destruction,” stated a letter circulated among Democrats and obtained by Punchbowl News .
“At a time when Republicans are seeking to kick children off health coverage to pay for tax cuts for billionaires, the CR would remove most guardrails that direct where funds should be spent.” Trump, meanwhile, is helping Johnson corral Republican votes in the House, where they can’t afford to lose any votes without needing to pick up Democrats. The White House posted a message on X from Trump on Saturday urging Republicans to remain “UNITED — NO DISSENT.
” “The House and the Senate have put together, under the circumstances, a very good funding bill (“CR”)!,” Trump said. “All Republicans should vote (Please!) YES next week.” Top among the list of House Democrats who could break and join Republicans are those representing districts that went to Trump in November, including Golden , who was narrowly reelected in a district Trump won by 9 points.
Golden spokesperson Mario Moretto said on Monday that the congressman was still reviewing the continuing resolution and had nothing to say about whether he’d support it. “Congressman Golden and his team are still reviewing the CR, so we have no comment on the substance until we’re done the review,” Moretto said. “In general, his preference is for passing budgets through regular order, but that doesn’t seem to be the world we’re operating in at the moment.
” Collins, as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, will undoubtedly be in the center of the action as the deadline approaches. And King, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, could also be an important vote because Republicans will need at least seven other members to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to pass the budget bill in that chamber. Collins’ staff said she was not available for an interview.
In a written statement Saturday, Collins stressed the importance of passing a spending bill to keep the federal government open. “Our focus must be on preventing an unnecessary and costly government shutdown on Friday, March 14th, at midnight,” Collins said. “Government shutdowns are inherently a failure to govern effectively and have negative consequences all across government.
They require certain essential government employees, such as border patrol agents, members of our military and Coast Guard, TSA screeners, and air traffic controllers, to report to work with no certainty on when they will receive their next paycheck. We cannot allow that to occur.” In written responses to questions from the Press Herald on Monday, Collins suggested she would support the House funding bill, saying “my No.
1 priority is to avoid a government shutdown. The continuing resolution released by the House would prevent a government shutdown from occurring this week.” When asked about concerns that extending funding through September would embolden the Trump administration’s efforts to slash spending without congressional approval, Collins said the continuing resolution drafted by House Republicans is similar to continuing resolutions passed while Barack Obama was president.
She also criticized Democrats for blocking bipartisan budget bills from the Senate floor when they were in the majority last year. Collins said Democrats’ efforts to insert language requiring the president to spend the money in accordance with the wishes of Congress would effectively kill its chances, calling it a “poison pill.” “When spending bills like this are drafted, the rule in the past has been no poison pills,” Collins said.
“The restrictions Democrats are demanding would be considered poison pill language.” King spokesperson Matthew Felling said the senator wanted to see what — if anything — gets passed by the House on Tuesday before weighing in. “Sen.
King is reviewing the continuing resolution put together by the Republican House of Representatives and White House, and waiting to see whether it will pass or if wiser spending paths can be considered,” Felling said. “Generally speaking, Sen. King believes continuing resolutions ‘pass the buck’ of Congress’s constitutional duty to decide and vote on yearly federal spending, and would prefer that the House and Senate come together to pass the previously approved spending bills that passed out of committee last year on a bipartisan basis.
” King’s office didn’t answer questions sent by email about whether he preferred a shorter funding bill, supported additional language that would require Trump to spend funding as allocated by Congress, or whether he was concerned that the current proposal would empower Trump’s and Musk’s unilateral attempts to reshape the government — attempts he has criticized. King has been vocal in criticizing Trump as acting unconstitutionally in overriding spending approved by Congress. Collins has also been critical, but she also voted to approve Russell Vought, who helped drafted the conservative policy blueprint, Project 2025, as Trump’s budget chief, even though Vought has publicly said that presidents have the power to overturn congressional spending.
Back in the House, Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, said she will vote against the continuing resolution because it includes a $6 billion increase in military spending and $13 billion in cuts to nonmilitary spending, which could hurt Maine. She criticized the proposal for not involving Democrats and for eliminating congressional earmarks.
“It’s bad,” Pingree said in an interview Monday. “It’s far more than just a CR. I’m not happy with it.
It’s not good for governing.” Pingree also said any continuing resolution that lasts through the end of September would give Trump and Musk too much time to continue their “illegal” moves to cut the federal workforce and spending without congressional approval. She also supports language that would force Trump to spend the money as appropriated by Congress, something Republicans have so far rejected.
“This is a total nightmare,” Pingree said. “We’re already in a nightmare of illegal activity with Elon Musk and Donald Trump really just deciding where to make cuts ..
. (and) where to get rid of staff, without any regard to appropriators, Congress or any sense of what they’re doing. This will just continue that.
It gives them license to do even more.” When asked whether she was prepared to shut down the federal government, Pingree said that’s more of a question for the Senate to answer, since Republicans will need Democratic support to reach the 60 votes needed to enact the spending bill. “Those are questions the senators are going to have to ask,” Pingree said.
“We have to stop this illegal and unconstitutional activity that’s going on between Elon Musk and the president. Our constituents are asking us to do that, so I think we have to stand up and fight on this one.” Angus King tells Senate colleagues, ‘We’ve got to wake up.
’ We invite you to add your comments. We encourage a thoughtful exchange of ideas and information on this website. By joining the conversation, you are agreeing to our commenting policy and terms of use .
More information is found on our FAQs . You can modify your screen name here . Comments are managed by our staff during regular business hours Monday through Friday as well as limited hours on Saturday and Sunday.
Comments held for moderation outside of those hours may take longer to approve. Please sign into your Press Herald account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe .
Questions? Please see our FAQs . Your commenting screen name has been updated. Send questions/comments to the editors.
.
