{"id":2463138,"date":"2025-07-17T18:04:01","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T22:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-lining-up-replacement-for-rino-senator-who-keeps-opposing-trump-bills\/"},"modified":"2025-07-17T18:06:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T22:06:08","slug":"white-house-lining-up-replacement-for-rino-senator-who-keeps-opposing-trump-bills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-lining-up-replacement-for-rino-senator-who-keeps-opposing-trump-bills\/","title":{"rendered":"White House Lining Up Replacement for RINO Senator Who Keeps Opposing Trump Bills"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhite-house-lining-up-replacement-for-rino-senator-who-keeps-opposing-trump-bills%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2463138&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Former President Donald Trump is considering backing a candidate to challenge republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine in the 2026 midterm elections. Collins, known for sometimes siding with Democrats despite her GOP affiliation, has supported some Trump-backed measures but voted against others, including certain judicial confirmations and spending bills. Although she has yet to announce a new campaign, she appears inclined to run again and has had triumphant fundraising so far. Trump&#8217;s potential move aims to replace Collins with a younger, more conservative candidate who could help strengthen Republican influence in the Senate. Though, this strategy risks dividing GOP voters in Maine-a state that leans liberal-and could inadvertently hand the seat to Democrats. The decision reflects broader party tensions and the difficulty of balancing conservative priorities with electoral viability in a competitive state.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>President Donald Trump is looking to make a huge chess move that could alter his influence in the United States Senate by seeking out candidates to replace GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine for the 2026 midterms.<\/p>\n<p>White House officials have already had discussions about potential replacements, according to a person familiar with the conversation, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/live-updates\/2025\/07\/16\/congress\/white-house-collins-maine-00459055\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">spoke with Politico<\/a>&nbsp;on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n<p>Although there <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/despite-insistence-by-democrat-politicians-and-medical-elites-empirical-evidence-does-not-conclusively-show-that-masks-reduce-the-spread-of-covid\/\" title=\"Despite Insistence by Democrat Politicians and Medical Elites, Empirical Evidence DOES NOT Conclusively Show that Masks Reduce the Spread of COVID\">hasn&#038;rsquo<\/a>;t been any confirmed talk of pushing a primary challenge, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/two-candidates-emerge-early-favorites-succeed-trump-fascinating-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Trump<\/a> said he&rsquo;d like to see a &ldquo;better option,&rdquo; as Collins is the most likely Republican to cross the aisle and vote with Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>Despite supporting the GOP on votes that included confirming Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, Collins voted against Justice Amy Coney Barrett&rsquo;s confirmation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/three-gop-senators-voted-big-beautiful-bill\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">and against<\/a> Trump&rsquo;s spending bill.<\/p>\n<p>Collins hasn&rsquo;t officially announced any campaign plans yet, but she reportedly expressed her desire to run again and recently said she is &ldquo;pleased&rdquo; with her fundraising efforts thus far.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>This will be a difficult decision for Trump and the Republicans.<\/p>\n<p>They would have to find the perfect candidate who is not only conservative, but who could get elected by Maine voters, who tend to lean liberal.<\/p>\n<p>If Trump makes a move and supports a primary challenge, it might backfire.<\/p>\n<p>It would turn a sometimes &ldquo;yes&rdquo; vote into an immediate &ldquo;no&rdquo; vote on all issues.<\/p>\n<p>The challenger might also lose the primary, but damage Collins in the process, handing the seat over to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/florida-official-gave-dems-tour-alligator-alcatraz-exposes-attempts-create-controversy-thin-air\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Democrats<\/a> anyway.<\/p>\n<p>The end goal is reasonable: Elevate a younger and more conservative candidate into a winnable seat.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats have had their eyes on that seat for decades, though, and will spend big money &mdash; while exploiting divisions amongst Republicans &mdash; to reclaim it.<\/p>\n<p>These worries, however, do not erase Collins&rsquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/more-on-pennsylvania-another-statistical-analysis-shows-roughly-300000-biden-votes-are-questionable\/\" title=\"More on Pennsylvania - Another Statistical Analysis Shows Roughly 300,000 Biden Votes Are Questionable\">voting record<\/a>. When a bill came forward to codify Trump&rsquo;s foreign aid cuts, she voted against it.<\/p>\n<p>She also voted against the recent recissions bill to cut government funding for public media.<\/p>\n<p>Her behavior mimics Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who also voted against the recissions package, foreign aid cuts, and voted with Democrats back in April to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/republicans-help-dems-pass-bill-block-trump-tariffs-24-hours-canadian-leader-wanted-give-trump-everything\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">adopt a resolution<\/a> designed to cancel the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-taking-regeneron-drug-remdesivir-therapy-for-coronavirus-diagnosis-ex-wh-doctor-explains\/\" title=\"Trump taking Regeneron drug, Remdesivir therapy for coronavirus diagnosis: ex-WH doctor explains\">president&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s tariffs on Canada.<\/p>\n<p>Murkowski is a &ldquo;Republican&rdquo; who had to stage a write-in campaign in 2010 to survive losing her primary. She was also originally appointed by her father to fill his seat after he left the Senate when he was elected Governor.&nbsp;She now benefits from the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >awful ranked-choice voting system<\/a> in the state.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-arizona-state-rep-issues-call-to-withhold-states-electoral-college-votes-to-joe-biden-due-to-significant-evidence-of-fraud\/\" title=\"BREAKING: Arizona State Rep Issues Call to Withhold State&#039;s Electoral College Votes to Joe Biden Due to Significant Evidence of Fraud\">party&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s decision regarding Collins, it won&rsquo;t be an easy road.<\/p>\n<p>Yet with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/trump-accuses-4-republican-senators-unbelievably-disloyal-amid-tariff-bill-battle\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">friends<\/a> like these, who needs enemies?<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Donald Trump is planning a significant strategic move that could impact his sway in the U.S. Senate by identifying candidates to challenge GOP Senator Susan Collins of Maine in the 2026 midterm elections. According to an individual familiar with the discussions who spoke anonymously to Politico, White House officials have already begun talks about possible replacements<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2463139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Trump-lines-up-RINO-replacement.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[59357,59358,32127],"class_list":["post-2463138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-rino-senator","tag-trump-bills","tag-white-house"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Trump-lines-up-RINO-replacement.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2463138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2463138"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2463138\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2463142,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2463138\/revisions\/2463142"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2463139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2463138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2463138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2463138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}