Maine’s congressional delegation and Gov. Janet Mills were united in opposing the Senate’s vote Tuesday to pass President Donald Trump’s signature domestic policy bill that extends his 2017 tax cuts and slashes spending on Medicaid and food assistance.

Both U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, a Republican, and Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, voted against the bill, leading to a 50-50 tie that was broken by Vice President JD Vance.

And Maine’s two members of the House of Representatives and Gov. Janet Mills were quick to criticize the vote Tuesday.

The bill now goes back to the House, which passed a different version by a single vote last month. Both Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, and Jared Golden, D-Lewiston, voted against it.

A recent poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center found the bill was deeply unpopular in Maine, with 58% of respondents saying the bill should not pass, including 94% of Democrats and 72% of independents. Less than a third wanted it to pass, which is in line with most other national polls. The online survey of 846 people was conducted from June 19-23 and has a margin of error of 3.4%.

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS

Collins did not reveal her position until she cast her vote on the Senate floor, although she had expressed concerns about Medicaid funding cuts and other pieces of the bill.

She was able to secure an additional $25 billion to support rural hospitals, which are expected to be hit the hardest by cuts to Medicaid. That additional funding brings the total to $50 billion, which is still much lower than her original request of $100 billion.

Collins, who is up for reelection in 2026, said in a written statement that she voted against the bill because of the health care cuts and cuts to renewable energy tax credits, including financial incentives for heat pumps, which are popular in Maine.

“I strongly support extending the tax relief for families and small businesses,” Collins said. “My vote against this bill stems primarily from the harmful impact it will have on Medicaid, affecting low-income families and rural health care providers like our hospitals and nursing homes.”

GOV. JANET MILLS

Mills, a Democrat, outlined her concerns before the vote, citing the potential loss of health care coverage and food assistance and potential cost shifts to the state. She said Maine would have to pay an additional $6o million a year for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

“The President’s so-called ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ – advanced by Republicans in the U.S. Senate – will take away health care from tens of thousands of Maine people, jeopardize our rural hospitals, restrict access to reproductive health care, slash vital food assistance for thousands of Maine families, and further drive-up energy costs that are already too high. The bill will dramatically shift costs from the Federal government to the State of Maine – costs that our state cannot absorb, imperiling our state’s balanced budget and the Maine economy,” Mills said in a written statement Tuesday.

“Last year, the President campaigned on bringing down the cost of living, and yet the cost of living has only gone up. And now, this legislation finances massive tax cuts for the wealthy on the backs of everyday Maine people and balloons the federal deficit by trillions of dollars, while doing nothing to bring down the cost of groceries, cars, materials, and other everyday goods. President Trump and Republicans are going to hurt a lot of Maine people with this bill, especially those in rural Maine.”

SEN. ANGUS KING

King released a statement saying the bill will have “catastrophic impacts on Maine people,” describing the tax cuts and safety net cuts as “a gross transfer of wealth from lower income people to the very wealthy.”

“I call this the Great Maine Robbery.

“First, it’s going to shift millions of dollars to state budgets – which means Maine taxpayers will be left footing the bill for essential services like healthcare and food assistance.

“It will also likely result in the closure of rural community health centers and hospitals — although the health fund in this bill will provide some limited relief to Maine hospitals, it won’t do anything for the thousands who will lose their health care under the terms of this bill. This will leave Maine people traveling further and spending more money out of pocket than they would otherwise.

“Many Maine people will also likely lose their MaineCare and CoverME marketplace coverage entirely, and significant Medicare cuts from this bill will harm Maine’s older adults.

“Essentially, this bill is a ‘shift and shaft’ to provide huge tax cuts for those making more than $400,000 per year in exchange for the elimination of critical programs that Maine people rely on for food, health and safety. This is not politics – this is the wellbeing of Maine people, and even though this bill is huge setback, I remain committed to fighting for them every single day.”

REP. JARED GOLDEN

“Maine’s entire congressional delegation — two Democrats, a Republican and an Independent — has now voted against this deeply flawed and harmful bill,” Golden said in a written statement.

“Mainers deserve better than a Congress that takes away their health care and saddles their children with unsustainable debt to fund tax breaks for the wealthiest people and corporations in our country. I am proud that Maine’s delegation stood against it.”

REP. CHELLIE PINGREE

“The reconciliation bill passed by the House earlier this month was by far the most harmful and regressive piece of legislation I’ve seen during my time in Congress,” Pingree said in a written statement.

“The version the Senate passed today is even worse: more cuts to Medicaid and clean energy, more tax breaks for the wealthy, and an even bigger deficit for our country. It’s an abomination and an all-out attack on working-class families.

“Over the past few days, Senate Democrats brought amendment after amendment to the floor to try and improve this disastrous bill, from expanding Medicaid coverage and cutting prescription drug costs to blocking more tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. Republicans voted down nearly all of them.

“Now, it’s up to the House to stop this bill from reaching the President’s desk. House Democrats are ready for that fight—and we won’t back down.”