Susan Collins
Republican senator from Maine and Senate Appropriations Chair, controlling NASA's budget.
Last refreshed: 5 April 2026
Can Susan Collins shield NASA's budget from White House cuts?
Latest on Susan Collins
- What is Susan Collins's role in NASA funding?
- As chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, she controls the legislation that sets NASA budgets. She expressed bipartisan concern over the FY2027 proposal to cut NASA to $18.8 billion.Source: background
- Is Susan Collins supporting Artemis II funding?
- Collins expressed concern over the FY2027 NASA budget cuts, aligning with bipartisan congressional resistance. Congress previously rejected the same White House request and funded NASA at $24.4 billion.Source: background
- What committee does Susan Collins chair?
- The Senate Appropriations Committee, which sets federal spending levels for all agencies including NASA and the space programme.Source: quick_facts
Background
Susan Collins (R-ME) chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, which sets the final federal spending levels for all government agencies including NASA. When the White House released its FY2027 proposal cutting NASA to $18.8 billion, Collins expressed bipartisan concern, reinforcing congressional resistance to the cuts while Artemis II was already en route to the Moon.
Collins has served in the Senate since 1997 and is known as one of its most bipartisan members, regularly crossing party lines on appropriations. As chair, she controls the flow of funding legislation and can shape NASA's budget independently of the White House request. Congress rejected an identical $18.8 billion White House request the previous year, passing NASA at $24.4 billion instead, a pattern that gives Collins significant leverage in the current cycle.
Her position matters to Artemis because the programme's long-term viability, including the Lunar Gateway and crewed Moon landing infrastructure, depends on sustained multi-year appropriations. Collins'''s willingness to break with the administration on spending signals that NASA is unlikely to face the full proposed cut even under a Republican Senate majority.