Tag: Sen. Murkowski

Sen. Murkowski delivers pointed criticism of fellow Republicans, including McConnell, who oppose Jan. 6 commission

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On the eve of the failure of a measure that would form a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told reporters that the decision facing senators is about more than “just one election cycle.”

Murkowski made the remarks in an extraordinary exchange at the Capitol on Thursday night. It comes as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has been urging Republican senators to oppose the establishment of an independent commission, which he argued is “extraneous,” and as relatives of the late Capitol Police officer Brian D. Sicknick plead with senators to back the legislation.

“They don’t want to rock the boat,” Murkowski said of Republican senators who oppose the commission. “They don’t want to upset. But again, it’s important that there be a focus on the facts and on the truth. And that may be unsettling, but we need to understand that.” Continue reading.

Murkowski blasts Trump’s election claims, calls House impeachment appropriate

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Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) on Thursday issued a blistering critique of President Trump‘s false claims that the election was “rigged,” and said that the House acted “appropriately” by impeaching him.

Murkowski didn’t say how she would vote in an upcoming Senate impeachment trial, pledging to “listen carefully and consider the arguments.” But she offered a broad rebuke of the president and signaled support for the House’s bipartisan vote, which made Trump the first president to be impeached twice.

“On the day of the riots, President Trump’s words incited violence, which led to the injury and deaths of Americans – including a Capitol Police officer – the desecration of the Capitol, and briefly interfered with the government’s ability to ensure a peaceful transfer of power,” Murkowski said in a statement on Thursday. Continue reading.

‘I want him out:’ Murkowski becomes first Senate Republican to call for Trump to resign

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Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) became the first Senate Republican to call for President Trump to resign, telling the Anchorage Daily News: “I want him to resign. I want him out. He has caused enough damage.”

Her comments Friday came on the same day House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told colleagues in a letter that she has spoken to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark A. Milley, about keeping an “unstable president” from accessing the nuclear codes. Pelosi also threatened impeachment if Trump didn’t resign “immediately.”

Her letter came shortly after Trump tweeted that he would not attend the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden on Jan. 20, breaking with a long-standing tradition of outgoing presidents attending the swearing-in ceremony of their successors. Biden told reporters that he agreed with Trump’s decision to skip the ceremony, though he would welcome Vice President Pence. Continue reading.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she doesn’t support filling Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat before the election

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President Trump said Saturday that he expects to announce his nominee to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg this week, putting him on track to announce his decision before the first presidential debate with Joe Biden on Sept. 29.

He said he intends to pick a woman for the seat.

“It will be a woman — a very talented, very brilliant woman,” Trump told supporters at an evening campaign rally in North Carolina. “We haven’t chosen yet, but we have numerous women on the list.” Continue reading.

Senate Republicans face tough decision on replacing Ginsburg

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said the Senate would vote to confirm a Trump nominee to succeed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in a statement released an hour after her death, but it’s unclear whether he can convince a majority of his colleagues to do so.

While several GOP senators on Friday evening were saying that a vote should go forward, some were notably silent on the issue.

McConnell can only afford three defections on what would be one of the most controversial Senate votes in history. Continue reading.

Murkowski, Mattis criticism ratchets up pressure on GOP over Trump

The Hill logoCriticism of President Trump from former Defense Secretary James Mattisand Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is ratcheting up pressure on other Republicans to push back on the president’s handling of nationwide civil unrest.

Mattis, who is as close as anyone to being universally respected on Capitol Hill, called out Trump on Wednesday for what he called the president’s lack of a “mature leadership” and accused him for intentionally trying to divide the nation.

Murkowski said she thought Mattis’s words were “true and honest and necessary and overdue” and suggested that it might embolden other Republicans who privately disagree with the president’s often controversial tone and conduct to speak out. Continue reading.

Lisa Murkowski admits Trump didn’t learn his lesson after reporters confront her with evidence president has gotten worse since acquittal

AlterNet logoSen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), who last week voted to acquit President Donald Trump on abuse of power and obstruction of Congress charges, admitted to reporters on Wednesday that she’d seen no indications that the president had been chastened by his impeachment.

Per New York Times reporter Nicholas Fandos, Murkowski was asked if she’d seen any evidence that Trump had learned anything since being impeached over a scheme to shake down the Ukrainian government to get it to announce investigations into his political rivals.

“There haven’t been very strong indicators this week that he has,” Murkowski admitted. Continue reading.

Moderate GOP senator ‘disturbed’ by McConnell’s coordination with White House

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said she is “disturbed” by coordination between Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the White House over the upcoming Senate impeachment trial.

Senate leaders have yet to reach an agreement on the rules of the trial, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has not sent the Senate the impeachment articles necessary to begin the proceedings. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has called for the Senate to pursue witnesses and documents, which McConnell opposes, leading to a holiday impasse and uncertainty as to when the trial will begin.

But Murkowski said McConnell had “confused the process” by saying he was acting in “total coordination” with the White House on setting the parameters for the trial. Continue reading

GOP senators challenge Trump on shutdown strategy

Several Senate Republicans on Wednesday challenged President Trump on his strategy for ending a 19-day shutdown during a closed-door meeting where they expressed specific concerns over the harm it is causing to federal workers and the economy.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who faces a tough reelection in a state Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton won in 2016, said she asked Trump to consider a bipartisan compromise that would give certain immigrants, known as Dreamers, a path to citizenship in exchange for border security money.

“I suggested that we take a look at the package that we put together last February and brought to the floor as a possible compromise,” Collins said, recounting her conversation with Trump during a closed-door lunch meeting in the Capitol.

View the complete January 9 article by Alexander Bolton on The Hill website here.