Moderate Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski claimed this week that she and other lawmakers are worried about retaliation for speaking out against some of the Trump administration’s policies.
Murkowski (R-Alaska) refrained from calling out President Trump directly or elaborating more specifically about what she’s nervous about, but stressed that the “retaliation is real.”
“We are all afraid,” Murkowski bluntly admitted to a summit of nonprofit leaders in Anchorage Monday when asked about what she tells people who are nervous.
After a pregnant pause, Murkowski added: “It’s quite a statement, but we are in a time and a place where I certainly have not been here before. And I’ll tell ya, I’m oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice, because retaliation is real. And that’s not right.”
The Alaska senator vowed that despite her fear, she is going to continue to “use my voice to the best of my ability,” whether it be confrontational or charming.
Her remarks at The Foraker Group’s leadership summit on Monday were first covered by the Anchorage Daily News but later went viral.
“President Trump’s only retribution is success and historic achievements for the American people,” White House assistant press secretary Taylor Rogers told The Post about Murkowski’s trepidations.
Back in 2023, President Trump proclaimed, “I am your retribution” during an address at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), but later said his retribution will be success.
Murkowski is widely regarded as one of the most centrist Republicans in the Senate. She’s opposed to some of Trump’s picks, such as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and FBI director Kash Patel, among others.
She’s also been critical of some of the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) cuts, as well as Trump’s move to rename Mount Denali, Mount McKinley.
In other cases, Murkowski has praised the Trump administration, including work done by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
During the 2024 election cycle, Murkowski made clear that she would not be voting for Trump. She was also one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict him during the second impeachment that followed the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Only three of those Republicans are still in the Senate— Murkowski, Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.)
“It is head-spinning,” Murkowski lamented about the current state of affairs. “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.”
“It is as hard as anything I have been engaged in, in the 20-plus years I’ve been in the Senate.”
Murkowski has been through tough political times before. During the Tea Party movement among conservatives, Murkowski had been defeated in a GOP primary in 2010. But she mounted a rare but successful write-in and ultimately won the general election.
Her home state of Alaska is one of the top five states in terms of percentage of federal workers.
“I think it’s important the concerns continue to be raised rather than letting the fatigue of the chaos grind you down,” she added.
Murkowski’s viral remarks drew mixed reactions from observers, with Democrats largely highlighting the comments to attack Trump and conservatives ripping into her for not being more of a team player.
“Nobody in the whole federal government is less afraid than Lisa Murkowski, who has survived multiple primary challenges, got re-elected as a third-party write-in candidate after losing one, & has had her state rewrite its election laws just to protect her,” National Review writer Dan McLaughlin said.
“I think it’s a good thing that our politicians are afraid of the voters,” Townhall columnist Kurt Schlichter jabbed.
“But where was she over the past 4 years when Biden was using lawfare to go after his political opponents?? Oh that’s right, she’s really a Democrat,” Tim Young, a media fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said.
“I largely disagree with Lisa Murkowski on political issues, but getting up on stage and openly talking about her fear of Donald Trump’s revenge is incredibly brave. This nightmare will never end unless it’s increasingly publicly named. By Republicans,” X user Andrea Junker remarked.
“This is an honest, courageous and deeply disturbing admission from Sen. @lisamurkowski about the state of our politics and our country,” Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod said.
“As someone who’s spoken out against Trump, I understand the fear of retaliation,” Sarah Matthews, former White House deputy press secretary turned Jan. 6 Committee witness, said.
“I appreciate Sen. Murkowski for saying what many of her colleagues feel but won’t admit. But we can’t give in to that fear. Too much is at stake and silence is exactly what the Trump admin wants.”
