Senate Republican Acknowledges That This Might All Be Very Illegal

While she has done little more than state facts, Sen. Susan Collins’ (R-ME) is emerging as the only Republican member of Congress currently willing to call out the fact that Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s lawless DOGE crusade is stripping Republicans in the House and Senate of one of the main powers they possess as elected officials: to create agencies and fund the federal government.

Earlier this month, as TPM pressed Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill about Musk’s rampage — and got little but shrugs in response — Collins came forward to say she was “concerned” about the amount of power Trump had given the unelected billionaire. She warned then that many of DOGE’s actions — freezing congressionally allocated funds, firing government workers, probing sensitive taxpayer data — was “going to end up in court.”

Since then, no other Republicans have taken their rhetoric any further. A handful of Senate Republicans have subtly broken with the Trump administration to publicly discuss how important certain funds that have been frozen are to their constituents — like the handful who have been limply, publicly negotiating with the Trump administration to get back funding for crucial medical research in their state.

Collins doubled down during an interview with Politico Wednesday, going as far as suggesting that the Trump administration might be breaking the law with its recent DOGE actions.

“I think it’s pretty clear that this violates Article I of the Constitution,” Collins told Politico before warning, “You would see lawsuits” if the DOGE recklessness continues.

“A lot of these issues are going to end up in court,” she said, again, before suggesting to Politico that it is not up to her to determine how to challenge the Trump administration’s actions.

It’s a less-than-stunning rebuke from a senator who tends to very carefully pick her moments, sticking her neck out alongside Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) to defend women’s issues, but barely ruffling feathers when it comes to breaking with her colleagues on other issues. But on the Senate side, she’s the only Republican willing to criticize the DOGE break-ins, thus far.

And the contrast is stark against the backdrop of the work her colleagues in the lower chamber are doing to turn Musk’s disastrous rampage into legislation via the House Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency.