Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins will summon six members of President Trump's Cabinet to testify before her committee next week. The move is part of an ambitious push to fund the government before the fiscal year ends on September 30. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins are set to appear before subcommittees on April 22.
Collins, the only Republican representing a Democratic-leaning state, wants to show Maine voters she can still deliver ahead of November's elections. She is seeking her sixth term. The chair is also trying to persuade Democrats in Washington to give bipartisan appropriations talks another try.
Collins told Axios that the committee will then go into markups in June, with the hope that bills will be brought to the floor in July. She acknowledged there are "a lot of difficult choices to be made." The process aims to avoid using budget reconciliation for funding more controversial agencies.
The hearings represent a critical step in the annual appropriations process, which has frequently been marked by partisan gridlock and last-minute continuing resolutions. Success depends on convincing both parties that bipartisan negotiation is preferable to the reconciliation process, which Collins stated is not her preference.
Collins's strategy hinges on convincing Democrats they lose leverage when Republicans resort to reconciliation. Her personal political stakes add another layer of urgency to the proceedings as she campaigns for re-election.