Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) plans to seek the top Republican position on the Senate Appropriations Committee in the next Congress, her spokesperson confirmed Monday, a move that would elevate a veteran lawmaker and occasional Trump administration antagonist to a powerful perch overseeing federal spending. Murkowski will vie to replace current Chair Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who lost her reelection bid, as ranking member on the committee, spokesperson Joseph Plesha said. The Alaska Republican is the most senior GOP member on the panel and is expected to secure the slot when Senate Republicans finalize committee leadership early next year, though she could face a challenge from Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.). The shift would give Murkowski significant influence over the federal purse strings—though not the gavel, as Democrats are set to take control of the Senate following last week's midterm elections. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) is poised to chair the committee. Murkowski's ascent could thrust her longstanding priorities—energy, the environment, and defense—to the forefront of committee business. It would also provide a new platform for one of the GOP's most vocal critics of President Donald Trump to scrutinize White House spending decisions and potentially restrict the administration's agenda. In an interview last week with Alaska radio station KNOM, Murkowski acknowledged Collins' departure would put her in "a position of higher leadership on the Appropriations Committee." She said she wants to help fix what she described as "a broken process in the Congress" while working to "do the job that people have sent us here to do." Asked about constituent concerns, Murkowski cited high prices and the impacts of a changing climate. "People are seeing and coming to fear—coming to fear—the fall and what it may bring, and it's not just here," she said. "We're seeing weather events in other parts of the state where people are feeling not only a vulnerability but an insecurity in being in their own homes, and what are we doing about it?" She said she wants to address Alaska's unique energy challenges, discussing the potential for battery storage, small modular nuclear reactors, wind power, and "other renewable sources that are more close to where we are." Murkowski has served as the top Republican on the Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee for more than 15 years, often touting bipartisan work with Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), who is in line to chair that subcommittee. It remains unclear whether she will continue to lead that panel. The federal government is currently funded through Dec. 11. Appropriators are expected to punt that deadline into next year, but Democratic efforts to use the spending fight to halt funding for the war against Iran could complicate the effort. Murkowski and Murray are expected to work collaboratively, including on stopping the administration's attempts to unilaterally withhold congressionally approved funding—a likely flashpoint given Murkowski's willingness to break with the White House.