Murkowski's open door
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News Thune can use: Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is leaving the door open to caucusing with Democrats if they manage to produce enough midterm upsets to create a 50-50 tie in 2027.
- "There is some openness to exploring something different than the status quo," she told the GD Politics podcast.
Why it matters: Murkowski is serious about putting Alaska first and takes pride in practical wins for her state — and bucking her party when necessary.
- She called caucusing with Democrats as an independent an "interesting hypothetical," but added she has plenty of disagreements with Chuck Schumer's conference.
Zoom in: Murkowski is on a book tour for her memoir, Far From Home, which goes public tomorrow.
- "I call myself a Republican because of the values I hold, such as personal responsibility, small government, a strong national defense, and the individual's right to make her own choices," she writes in the book's epilogue.
🗓️ In an interview with us, she dismissed the self-imposed July 4 deadline the White House and Hill leadership are targeting for marquee tax and spending cuts legislation, calling it "arbitrary."
- "I don't want us to be able to say we met the date, but our policies are less than we would want. Why are we afraid of a conference? Oh my gosh," she added.
- Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson are wary of going to conference with both chambers' tight majorities and the upcoming debt ceiling "X-date."
Between the lines: Murkowski shares some eye-catching personal anecdotes in the book, which spans from before her historic write-in 2010 Senate win through her 2021 vote to convict Trump of impeachment and the overturning of Roe in 2022.
- Trump once referred to her as "that bitch Murkowski" in a phone call with her late colleague Rep. Don Young, Murkowski writes.
- "You have nice hair," Trump told her after a 90-minute meeting about Alaska priorities in the Oval Office during his first term.
— Stef Kight
