White House officials have discussed potential candidates who could replace Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) if she elects not to run again in 2026, according to a person familiar with the conversation granted anonymity to speak about political strategy.

Though there is no discussion of pushing a primary on the 72-year old, President Donald Trump would love to see a “better option,” in place of one of his most persistent GOP critics, the person said.

Though she hasn’t formally launched a campaign, the Senate Appropriations chair confirmed Tuesday she is planning to run again and was “pleased” with strong fundraising she reported last week.

Collins’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The person declined to say who Trump might like to see run if Collins retires when her fifth term ends.

Collins – chair of the historically powerful Appropriations Committee — is one of a handful of lawmakers Democrats hope to knock out to retake the majority. Flipping Maine, which former Vice President Kamala Harris carried in 2024, would be much easier for Democrats if Collins decided not to run.

Collins, a moderate Republican, has faced an uphill battle in the Senate this month, with GOP leaders pushing through Trump’s megabill while snubbing some of her safety-net cutback concerns. In addition this week, Republicans are pushing through a Trump claw back effort of $9 billion in spending Collins helped approve.

Sen. Tina Smith has been admitted to the hospital after becoming ill Wednesday and won’t be available to help Democrats during crucial votes on the rescission package.

Smith was admitted to the hospital after feeling ill and will stay overnight for observation, her office said.

“While at work at the Capitol today, Sen. Smith started to not feel well. She went to the Capitol physician who recommended she undergo more thorough examination at GW hospital,” the statement read. “Out of an abundance of caution, they are keeping her overnight for observation. She expects to be back at work very soon.”

The Minnesota Democrat will be unable to help Democrats as they seek to make changes to the $9 billion package of funding clawbacks in a “vote-a-rama” amendment series.

Democrats have failed in their efforts thus far to block pieces of the proposed $1.1 billion in cuts to public media and $8.3 billion in cuts to foreign aid. Some Republicans have backed proposed amendments from Democrats, but not enough to overcome the Republican majority thus far.

Smith’s absence means that, barring any other absences, Republicans will not need to rely on Vice President JD Vance to cast a tie-breaking vote on any amendments this evening. Vance traveled to Pennsylvania earlier on Wednesday and is scheduled to return to Washington this evening.

House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan is in touch with the White House about bringing his sweeping immigration overhaul bill up for a vote — in exactly the same form as in the previous Congress.

In an interview this week, the Ohio Republican said he wants to revive consideration of legislation that passed the House in May 2023 without any Democratic votes.

“What I’d like to do in our committee, and we’re talking to the White House about when it makes sense to do this, is look at … the language that we had last Congress,” said Jordan.

Jordan had previously signaled an openness to tweaking the bill text to include some changes to high-skilled visa rules — a policy change championed by Elon Musk, tech mogul and former head of the Department of Department Efficiency initiative.

Since that time, however, Musk left his administration posting on bad terms with Donald Trump over for the GOP’s sweeping domestic policy package, railing against the megabill and burning bridges with the president along the way.

And while Musk and Jordan had at one point been close allies, Jordan was recently one of the several high-profile Republicans who Musk unfollowed on his social media platform, X, following passage of Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”

Jordan’s immigration overhaul bill would significantly crack down on legal immigration in the United States through limits on asylum and parole eligibility. It also would require employers to use E-Verify, an online system where they can ascertain an individual’s eligibility to work in the U.S., while setting a new minimum of 22,000 active-duty agents for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency.

A 2023 report from the Congressional Budget Office found that the bill would lower population estimates by 2033 by 600,000 “mostly by reducing the number of unaccompanied alien children present in the country.” The nonpartisan scorekeeper also estimated that 4.4 million people would also no longer be eligible for parole or asylum.

It would come on the heels of the megabill’s allocations of tens of billions of dollars for completing the border wall and implementing new fees for applicants seeking entry into the country.