Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) were the subjects of new ads from Senate Democrats on Tuesday over the Trump administration’s staff cuts to the Social Security Administration.
The duo is up for reelection next year in some of the most competitive Republican-held states, which Democrats hope to flip as the party defends battleground states elsewhere to prevent the GOP from expanding its 53-47 majority.
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The 30-second digital spots are tailored to Collins and Tillis, blaming them and other Senate Republicans for not preventing cuts at the SSA by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
“In 2026, voters will hold Susan Collins, Thom Tillis, and Senate Republicans accountable for their toxic plan to slash Social Security in order to pay for a tax giveaway to billionaires,” said Maeve Coyle, a spokeswoman for Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, which launched the ads.
Collins and Tillis did not respond to requests for comment.
The ads will target seniors in North Carolina and Maine on Facebook.
The commercials are the latest example of actions by the Trump administration, and DOGE in particular, making their way into campaign politics. DOGE’s staff cuts have been blamed for service disruptions and longer wait times for the elderly and disabled trying to reach the SSA, which last week scrapped DOGE’s plans to cease help over the phone.
DOGE plans to cut 7,000 workers, or 12% of the agency’s workforce, and close some offices as part of the Musk-led group’s broader endeavor to slash waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government.
The changes to the SSA have prompted some grumblings from Republicans on Capitol Hill and opposition to closing offices. But the party has largely accepted the administration’s efforts and not sought to overrule DOGE. Collins, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, has gone further than most in her party in accusing President Donald Trump of illegally withholding federal funds approved by Congress for other programs and agencies.
Collins is seeking a sixth term and is one of the most vulnerable Republican incumbents on a 2026 Senate map that favors Democrats. However, the GOP is still almost certain to retain chamber control.
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Tillis is seeking a third term but will first have to navigate a primary with several challengers amid criticism from some Republicans that he’s been insufficiently conservative and too willing to cut deals across the aisle.
Nonpartisan election forecasters rate Collins’s seat as “lean Republican” but have mixed views for Tillis, ranging from “lean Republican” to “toss-up.”