Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) hinted that she might leave the GOP, citing its move towards former President Trump.
“I hope that as Republicans, we had a candidate that I could support. I definitely can’t support Donald Trump,” she said in an interview that aired Sunday on “Inside Politics Sunday with Manu Raju.”
When asked if she is thinking about running independently, the Alaska lawmaker kept her plans private, telling Raju, “Oh, I think I’m very independent minded. I just regret that our party is seemingly becoming a party of Trump.”
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When pressed further if she is “officially” considering an open to an independent bid, she said, “I am navigating my way through some very interesting political times so let’s just leave it at that.”
It comes after the Alaska Republican said earlier this month that she “could not” vote for either Trump or President Biden, who are their respective parties’ presumptive nominees.
She instead endorsed former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, who later suspended her GOP presidential bid following a series of primary losses to Trump.
Murkowski is one of the most outspoken critics of Trump and was one of seven Republicans who voted to convict the former president in his second impeachment in 2021.
When asked by Raju about Trump’s description of imprisoned Jan. 6 rioters are “hostages,” Murkowski said, “What happened on Jan. 6, was an effort by people who stormed the building in an effort to stop an election.”
Late last year, she argued Trump said immigrants are causing harm to our country after the former president claimed immigrants were causing harm to the country.
Trump’s control of the GOP conference on Capitol Hill has intensified in recent months, with Republicans in both the House and Senate increasingly supporting the former president’s reelection bid.