Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) has long leaned on her power and influence in Washington to steer federal money back to Maine — a record that anchored her political standing. In the era of President Donald Trump, however, that advantage has imploded.

Writing in a Thursday column for MS NOW, Hayes Brown noted that the new fiscal year has begun for the federal government, meaning all funding not previously used has expired.

"As the lead Republican appropriator in the Senate, Collins was crucial in making sure that the federal government wasn't shut down during campaign season, while budget negotiators wait to see how the dust settles after the election," Brown explained.

Under the Constitution, Congress is the branch of government that regulates what funds can be spent on and how. The Trump administration does not see it that way. Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought has spent his first two years in office refusing to follow the instructions outlined by the legislative branch, instead positioning himself as the decision-maker on which programs receive the funds. Thus far, Republicans have not fought back, either verbally or by taking the administration to court.

Last week, as reported by The Associated Press, Vought informed Congress that $1 billion it had approved will be eliminated. The administration relied on a rarely used authority to take back the money — funding Congress had already written into law but that agencies had not spent before the fiscal year ended.

"Most of the cuts are focused on Health and Human Services programs that serve refugees and unaccompanied minors accused of being in the country illegally," Brown wrote, citing The Associated Press. Programs at the Justice Department, the Department of Education, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development are also being cut. All of those departments draw their money from the annual spending bills produced by the Senate Appropriations Committee — the panel where Collins serves as lead Republican and the lever behind much of her home-state record. In a way, Brown said, the move doubles as a signal to lawmakers that they should probably remove the spending themselves.

Collins was furious, coming out against the cuts immediately and warning that she'll "work with my colleagues to address these illegal actions."

There is an important reason for that response. Many of the ads Collins intends to run in Maine tout her as the savior of the state at a time when the rest of the country is hurting. As The Washington Sun's Al Weaver reported, "A sampling of her ads or campaign appearances and the message is clear: She's responsible for securing money to rebuild a fire station or other local projects that generate jobs."

The implicit threat in that message is that without her, the state would lose funding. But Trump just proved that even with her, the state is losing money.

The controversy only adds to Collins' problems involving a potentially illegal campaign donation.

"If Collins does win, she would need to work to convince her fellow Republicans that this power is one worth fighting tooth and nail to protect," Brown closed. "Explicit penalties for administration staffers like Vought who defy Congress and withhold funds should be attached to every spending bill that comes from her committee. Unfortunately, that seems unlikely when so many of her colleagues are content to let the White House override their wishes with impunity."