Collins Honored for Helping Reverse Trump Bid to Shut Down Job Corps
The senator was celebrated in her hometown of Caribou after a $1.8 billion nationwide funding bill kept Maine's two centers open.
The National Job Corps Association gave U.S. Sen. Susan Collins an award on Feb. 27 in her hometown of Caribou for her work to reverse the Trump administration's effort to close Job Corps in 2025, the Bangor Daily News reported.
Job Corps, which trains low-income young adults for jobs, is the largest program of its kind in the country. Maine has two centers: Penobscot Job Corps in Bangor and Limestone's Loring Job Corps Center.
In the spring of 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor halted enrollment at most Job Corps sites nationwide, citing rising costs. The department reversed course in November 2025 after the Job Corps association filed a federal lawsuit. A federal spending bill for labor, health and education programs, passed in early February 2026, includes $1.8 billion to keep more than 100 centers running across the country.
Speaking to the crowd at the VFW post in Caribou, the Republican senator said she had pushed persistently to undo what she called a "misguided decision." She recounted a Loring student she met nearly 20 years ago who later completed a master's program at Husson University before becoming a nurse practitioner.
More than 100 people attended the ceremony, where the VFW also handed out awards to local students and teachers. Job Corps leaders gave community impact awards to several students from the Loring and Penobscot centers.
This story was first reported by Bangor Daily News.
