Collins voted to advance the One Big Beautiful Bill after billionaire Steve Schwarzman, who would’ve benefited greatly from the bill, injected $2 million into a super PAC supporting her campaign.
The One Big Beautiful bill was expected to kick upwards of 60,000 Mainers off their health insurance plan and place four rural hospitals at rick of closure.
Since the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, over 13,000 Mainers have lost their SNAP benefits.
2025: Collins Effectively Voted For The Senate FY 2025 Budget Reconciliation Bill That Extended $4 Trillion In Expiring Tax Cuts, Added New Tax Breaks, Appropriated $448 Billion In Defense, Border, And Immigration Enforcement Funding, Increased The SALT Deduction To $40,000, And Cut Medicaid And Other Social Programs To Offset The Costs. In June 2025, Collins voted for, according to Congressional Quarterly, “motion to proceed to the bill comprising a package of tax, health care, defense, homeland security, agriculture and energy provisions.” The Senate agreed to the motion by a vote of 51 to 49. [Senate Vote 329, 6/28/25; Congressional Quarterly, 6/28/25; Congressional Actions, H.R. 1]
Collins Casted A “Critical Vote” To Advance The Legislation Despite Later Voting Against It’s Final Passage. According to Rolling Stone, “Susan Collins did not vote for President Donald Trump’s signature piece of legislation, his so-called Big Beautiful Bill, a massive package of tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans financed by slashing an estimated $1 trillion from Medicaid. ‘I did the right thing for the people of Maine, and I am proud of my no vote,’ Collins told a local outlet after the bill passed in July. But before she voted against it, Collins cast a critical vote to advance the legislation, which is projected to kick at least 10 million people off their health insurance — and she cast that vote just one day after private equity billionaire Steve Schwarzman, the chair of the Blackstone Group and a man who will personally reap huge rewards from the bill, kicked in $2 million dollars toward her reelection effort.” [Rolling Stone, 9/3/25]
HEADLINE: Susan Collins Raked In Wall Street Cash Before Advancing Trump Tax Bill [Rolling Stone, 9/3/25]
HEADLINE: Susan Collins Advanced Trump Tax Bill After Receiving $2 Million From Private Equity Billionaire [Maine Beacon, 9/8/25]
Susan Collins Cast A “Critical Vote To Advance” The Big Beautiful Bill Just One Day After Blackstone CEO And Billionaire Steve Schwarzman Contributed $2 Million Toward Her Reelection Effort. According to Rolling Stone, “Susan Collins did not vote for President Donald Trump’s signature piece of legislation, his so-called Big Beautiful Bill, a massive package of tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans financed by slashing an estimated $1 trillion from Medicaid. ‘I did the right thing for the people of Maine, and I am proud of my no vote,’ Collins told a local outlet after the bill passed in July. But before she voted against it, Collins cast a critical vote to advance the legislation, which is projected to kick at least 10 million people off their health insurance — and she cast that vote just one day after private equity billionaire Steve Schwarzman, the chair of the Blackstone Group and a man who will personally reap huge rewards from the bill, kicked in $2 million dollars toward her reelection effort.” [Rolling Stone, 9/3/25]
Big Beautiful Bill Extended The Pass-Through Deduction And Made It Permanent, Allowing Partnerships To Deduct 20 Percent Of Their Pre-Tax Income. According to Rolling Stone, “The bill went on to pass the Senate just a few days later, to Schwarzman’s presumed delight, since the legislation both extended the pass-through business deduction — treasured by the owners of private equity firms — and made it permanent, allowing partnerships to deduct 20 percent of their pre-tax income. Blackstone did not respond to a request for comment. Ahead of the vote, the watchdog Americans for Financial Reform sent a letter urging senators to let the loophole, which was set to sunset in 2025, expire. ‘Pass-through income is heavily concentrated at the top, with nearly two-thirds of the deduction going to households earning over $410,000 and more than half captured by those making above $1 million,’ the group wrote.” [Rolling Stone, 9/3/25]
Big Beautiful Bill Made The Use Of Private Jets For Business A Tax Write-Off, Which Benefited Schwarzman, A Private Jet Owner Himself, And His Firm, Which Had Large Investments In The Private Jet Companies. According to Rolling Stone, “A separate provision in the legislation made the use of private jets for business a tax write-off, another boon for both Schwarzman, a private jet owner himself, and his firm, which has large investments in the private jet companies, including Signature Aviation Plc, which the firm purchased for $4.7 billion in 2021.” [Rolling Stone, 9/3/25]
Between 40,000 And 60,000 Mainers Could Lose Health Insurance Coverage Due To The One Big Beautiful Bill. According to Maine Public, “The so-called ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ partially pays for extending the 2017 tax cuts and President Trump's border security initiatives by cutting nearly $1 trillion dollars from Medicaid. The bill, which the House sent to Trump's desk Thursday afternoon, also makes changes to enrollment and subsidy policies under the Affordable Care Act. Various studies project that anywhere from 40,000 to 60,000 Maine residents could lose health insurance as a result of the changes. And that would put an additional financial strain on hospitals — especially rural hospitals — that cover uninsured people who come to emergency rooms for care.” [Maine Public, 7/3/25]
Maine Was Expected To Lose Nearly $3 Billion In Federal Medicaid Funds Due To The One Big Beautiful Bill. According to Common Dreams, “According to one analysis, the GOP law’s estimated cuts to federal Medicaid spending in rural areas over the next decade will amount to nearly triple the RHTP’s funding. Maine is expected to lose nearly $3 billion in federal Medicaid funds over the next 10 years due to the Republican law—a massive hit that the pro-Collins campaign ads predictably avoid.” [Common Dreams, 6/18/26]
HEADLINE: Trump's Budget Bill Will Add 'Significant Stress' To Maine Hospitals, Officials Say [Maine Public, 7/3/25]
Four Rural Hospitals In Maine Were At Risk Of Closing Due To Medicaid Cuts. According to Maine Morning Star, “While the largest hospitals are at risk of the greatest losses, rural Maine hospitals face a different threat. Some are already operating at losses, or rely heavily on Medicaid because of the patients they serve, which makes them particularly prone to closures, according to two other national reports. Last month, reports from Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Families USA listed four hospitals at high risk of having to close because of the Medicaid cuts.” [Maine Morning Star, 7/18/25]
Northern Lights A.R. Gould Hospital, Maine Coast Memorial Hospital, Cary Medical Center And Calais Community Hospital Were At Risk Of Closure Due To Medicaid Cuts. According to Maine Morning Star, “The Sheps Center named Northern Light A.R. Gould Hospital in Presque Isle and Maine Coast Memorial Hospital in Ellsworth among the 338 high-risk rural hospitals across the country, both for their three-year record of operating on negative margins. Families USA also identified Cary Medical Center in Caribou and Calais Community Hospital as at risk because the cuts to Medicaid are expected to lower their operating margins below zero, according to a roundup compiled by the progressive Maine Center for Economic Policy.” [Maine Morning Star, 7/18/25]
HEADLINE: Thousands Of Mainers No Longer Receiving SNAP Benefits [Portland Press Herald, 5/14/26]
May 2026: 11,500 Mainers Lost Their SNAP Benefits. According to Portland Press Herald, “Months after Congress enacted sweeping changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the number of Mainers receiving benefits has plummeted by more than 11,000, according to state officials. The law enacted last summer shifted more costs to states, slashed benefits to certain groups of people and ended exemptions to work requirements for many others. Last August, about 170,000 Mainers were receiving SNAP benefits. That number dropped by nearly 11,500 by March, according to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.” [Portland Press Herald, 5/14/26]
Aug 2026: Since The SNAP Cuts From The One Big Beautiful Bill Went Into Effect, SNAP Enrollment Dropped By 13,000 Mainers. According to WABI, “The number of people using SNAP food benefits in Maine is dropping. New data from the Get the Facts Data Team shows about 13,000 Mainers who once relied on the federal program no longer use it. Eligibility for the program is now tightened with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and more adults need to work or volunteer at least 80 hours a month to access SNAP.” [WABI, 8/5/26]