Sen. Lisa Murkowski is poised to become the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee in January, giving one of President Donald Trump’s most outspoken GOP critics a role in the fight over federal spending.

The Alaska senator is next in line to succeed Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the current chair, who lost her reelection bid. Democrats are set to control both chambers of Congress, so Murkowski would serve as the panel’s ranking Republican alongside incoming Democratic Chair Patty Murray of Washington.

Murkowski has pledged to “get back to governing in the middle” and could work with Democrats to challenge administration efforts to shift spending power away from Congress. Her spokesperson, Joseph Plesha, confirmed Monday that she plans to take the committee post.

“Russ Vought’s gonna meet his match,” said former Republican Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, referring to the White House budget director. Frelinghuysen, a former House Appropriations chair, praised Murkowski’s defense of Congress’s power of the purse.

Murkowski has accused Trump of breaking the law by using “pocket rescissions” to cancel federal funds and worked to block Vought’s plan to put political appointees in charge of approving grants. She also opposed a 2025 request to claw back more than $9 billion, citing the importance of public broadcasting in Alaska. Collins took the same positions on those issues.

Murkowski has nevertheless been more willing to break publicly with her party. She was the only Senate Republican to vote against a party-line bill funding Trump’s immigration enforcement agencies last summer, and has said Vought “disrespects” Congress.

The higher-profile role could benefit Murkowski if she seeks reelection in 2028, while also drawing further attacks from Trump. Last month, after she endorsed the Democratic candidate who won Alaska’s gubernatorial race, the president called her “Republicans’ Worst Senator, by far.”

Murkowski’s portfolio could give her greater influence over programs serving rural communities and Native Alaskans, defense investment and environmental policy. She currently chairs the subcommittee funding the Interior Department and Environmental Protection Agency.

Despite her clashes with Trump, Murkowski has also sought cooperation with his administration on Alaska energy production. She said after the election that she wants legislative progress, not two years of “daily retribution directed at Donald Trump.”