Republican Senator Says She’s ‘Not Attached’ to a Partisan Label Anymore: I’m a ‘Ronald Reagan Republican’
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) spoke at an event hosted by the No Labels political organization on Thursday and told the audience that she is not “attached to a label” when it comes to partisan affiliation.
Politico reported on Murkowski’s comments and called them an “escalation of the Alaska senator’s occasional bucking of her party as the chamber readies itself for a slew of confirmation battles over Trump administration nominees.”
“I’m not attached to a label, I’d rather be that ‘no label.’ 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,” Murkowski said at the event.
During her remarks, she also made clear that she is still indeed a Republican and “never shed my party label.” Murkowski won her last election as a write-in candidate after losing the Republican primary after Donald Trump endorsed her opponent. Murkowski, who has served in the Senate since 2003, voted to impeach Trump over his actions on Jan. 6th and has remained a steadfast critic.
“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,” Murkowski added of her remaining with the GOP.
“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. And someone said, ‘Well, you aren’t really a Republican at all.’ And I said, ‘You can call me whatever you want to call me,’” she added.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) also spoke at the event and praised the centrist group for working to foster bipartisanship between members of Congress.
Murkowski also weighed in briefly on Trump’s approach to Congressional politics. Politico reported:
Murkowski predicted “it’s going to be hard in these next four years” because the Trump administration’s “approach is going to be: Everybody tow the line. Everybody line up. We got you here, and if you want to survive, you better be good. Don’t get on Santa’s naughty list here, because we will primary you.”
She pointed specifically to Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), whose swing vote could sink Pete Hegseth’s bid to run the Pentagon.
Despite being “one of the more conservative, principled Republican leaders in the Senate right now,” Murkowski said, Republicans are slamming Ernst “for not being good enough” — and she said she is worried the Iowa senator could be primaried.
Read the full Politico report here.
