Murkowski on Trump: "We are all afraid"
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Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Photo: Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) this week described widespread worry about the chaos of President Trump's second administration, telling nonprofit leaders in her state: "We are all afraid."
Why it matters: Murkowski has been a consistent voice of dissent on everything from Cabinet nominations to DOGE cuts to tariffs to renaming Denali. "I am oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice because retaliation is real," she said Monday.
- "It is as hard as anything I have been engaged in, in the 20-plus years I've been in the Senate," Murkowski told Laurie Wolf, president and CEO of The Foraker Group, which hosted the discussion.
- Her remarks were reported by the Anchorage Daily News.
Zoom in: Murkowski has repeatedly raised concerns about the speed and aggression of DOGE's efforts to slash government spending.
- Alaska is in the top 5 states for share of federal workers.
- "It is head spinning," Murkowski told the group, according to the Anchorage news outlet. "It seems that just when you've made a little bit of progress on one issue that had caused so much anxiety, there's another one."
- She argued Congress has given the executive branch too much power, "It's called the checks and balances. And right now, we are not balancing as the Congress," the local outlet reported.
What to watch: Murkowski also warned that she could not vote for a sweeping reconciliation package that contains significant cuts to Medicaid — hinting at a major inflection point for Congressional Republicans trying to pass Trump's top priorities.
- "There is a growing number of Republicans, which needs to happen, who are saying 'Medicaid is off the table,'" Murkowski said.
