Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) responded “absolutely, unequivocally not” when asked if she was “considering joining the Democratic majority.”
“No. No. Absolutely, unequivocally not,” Murkowski replied in response to a question from Liz Ruskin, an Alaska public radio reporter, amid speculation about the GOP senator’s affiliation with the Republican Party.
Speculation about Murkowski possibly leaving the GOP began after she said that “if the Republican Party has become nothing more than the party of [President] Trump, I sincerely question whether this is the party for me.”
Murkowski is the first Republican senator who has called on Trump to resign following the Capitol attacks on Wednesday, when the president called the rioters “special” and continued to push his claims of election fraud.
Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) has signaled that he might support impeachment if it makes it through the House and depending on why the National Guard was not deployed during the riot.
This isn’t the first time Murkowski has gone against her fellow Republican colleagues. The most notable time Murkowski bucked the GOP and Trump was during the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, when she simply voted “present.”
Trump has previously threatened to support Murkowski’s primary challenger when she is up for reelection in 2022. Murkowski has been in the Senate since 2002.
There are mounting calls from people on both sides of the aisle for Trump’s removal from office; however, Vice President Pence has reportedly indicated he does not support using the 25th Amendment to remove Trump.