(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski told the press on Thursday that she was not particularly attached to the Republican Party, Politico reported.
Murkowski admitted that she felt “more comfortable” with no party label during a Thursday event for the centrist group “No Labels” at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C.
“I’m not Lisa Murkowski (R), I’m just Lisa Murkowski.”
Senator @lisamurkowski knows labels don’t have to define you. She votes her conscience even when her party disagrees. We need more leaders like her! pic.twitter.com/fGH1HmPISd
— No Labels (@NoLabelsOrg) December 12, 2024
“I’m not attached to a label, I’d rather be that ‘no label,’” the embattled senator added. “I’d rather be that person that is just known for trying to do right by the state and the people that I serve, regardless of party, and I’m totally good and comfortable with that.”
However, Murkowski later backed off her initial anti-Republican statement, telling the group that she had little choice but to reluctantly accept a party label.
“We’ve got a system in the Senate where there are two sides of the aisle, and I have to sit on one side or I have to sit on the other,” she said, clarifying that she does not support Trump.
“I don’t think I’ve made any secret of the fact that I’m more of a Ronald Reagan Republican than I am a Trump Republican,” Murkowski added, noting that “you can call me whatever you want to call me.”
Murkowski, whom president-elect Donald Trump has called the “disaster from Alaska,” has a lengthy history of opposing Republican Party principles, but perhaps most notorious was her support of Democrats’ efforts to impeach Trump after he already had left office in 2021.
Along with Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, Murkowski also has a dubious record of voting against conservatives and for radical Democrats during tight confirmation battles. The two both initially refused to support Justice Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court (although Murkowski later relented). Neither had any hesitation, however, backing Biden nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Murkowski has continued her RINO ways in recent days, casting doubt on Trump Cabinet selections such as Pete Hegseth, the nominee for Defense secretary, even though she did not hesitate to confirm Biden nominee Lloyd Austin.
According to the senator, the Hegseth dispute was the first of many that she and her D.C. colleagues expected to have with the Trump administration after he became just the third Republican presidential candidate in the past 50 years to win re-election and to win the popular vote.
“It’s going to be hard in these next four years,” she told the No Labels audience, alluding to time working with the Trump administration, because Republicans will be unfairly expected to “tow the line” on major issues.
“Don’t get on Santa’s naughty list here, because we will primary you,” she added.
🚨Sen. Lisa Murkowski laments that there will be accountability to voters for obstructing Trump’s cabinet picks:
“The approach is going to be everybody toe the line, everybody line up. If you want to survive, you better be good. Don't get on Santa's naughty list here because we… pic.twitter.com/pPsVtZqhHS
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) December 13, 2024
Fortunately for Murkowski, Alaska’s peculiar political dynamics have enabled her to pad herself somewhat against political accountability.
She was initially appointed to the job in 2002 to finish the term of her father, Sen. Frank Murkowski, after he was elected governor. After narrowly winning re-election in 2004, she lost her primary in 2010 but subsequently staged a write-in campaign, stealing the election from Republican nominee Joe Miller under highly suspicious circumstances.
Miller and Murkowski faced off again in 2016, with the former as a libertarian and Murkowski clinching the GOP primary, edging him out again in the general election. In 2022, she faced a challenge from Trump-endorsed Kelly Tshibaka, who led Murkowski among Republican voters.
However, ahead of the election, Murkowski allies had helped lead a ballot referendum for ranked-choice voting—a system that inherently favors centrist candidates and well-funded establishment candidates. After a two-week tallying period, Murkowski was declared the winner over Tshibaka. Gov. Sarah Palin, who had been running to fill the state’s only House seat, lost her race as well.
Headline USA’s Ben Sellers contributed to this report.
