Republicans appear to be facing a defection in their bid to pass President Donald Trump's package to defund foreign aid and public radio.
According to Punchbowl News' Andrew Desiderio, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) "spoke out against the rescissions effort again at lunch & had a back-and-forth w/Vought, per multiple [Republicans]."
Furthermore, he said, "GOP senators believe Collins will be a no on the package," even with the element she found most controversial — the defunding of a George W. Bush-era AIDS relief program that has saved millions of lives worldwide — being excluded from the package after Republicans responded to harsh criticism.
Republicans don't need Collins's vote to pass the legislation, as she also voted against final passage of the "big, beautiful bill" that extended high-income tax cuts and slashed over $1 trillion from Medicaid and food assistance, although she did vote to advance the bill to a final vote.
Nonetheless, it comes at a moment when a number of Senate Republicans have concerns about the bill and are jockeying to make changes to it, fearful of the backlash for eliminating funding for various popular and important programs.
As all of this is unfolding, Trump is reportedly breathing down the necks of senators, checking for any sign of disloyalty to his agenda as he presses for the rescissions bill to be passed as close to his desired form as possible.
