With the Democratic Party seizing the majority in Congress, coupled with retirements on both sides of the aisle, the Senate Appropriations Committee will look a lot different in January 2027 than it did a year earlier.
Current Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) lost her re-election bid to political newcomer Troy Jackson (D) last week ending her Senate career, which started back in January 1997.
Longtime Senate fixture Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) died unexpectedly in July at age 71. His sister, Darline Graham, appointed to the Senate following her brother’s death, lost in her bid for a full-term last week to Dr. Annie Andrews (D).
Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) lost his race last week to former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D). Also, Appropriations Committee member Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) is locked in a race that is too close to call. She trails challenger Scott Colom (D) by more than 2,000 votes with 97% of the ballots counted.
Then a couple of venerable Senators are retiring from Congress and the Appropriations Committee: Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). McConnell was first elected to the Senate in November 1984, according to Ballotpedia. Durbin was first elected to the senate in November 1996.
Likewise, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), a former New Hampshire governor, decided not to seek re-election.
