For Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the One Big Beautiful Bill is a hot potato she just tossed to the House. Now, she has called on House Republicans to send the “One Big Beautiful Bill” back to the Senate for further refinement because it’s not ready. This, even though Murkowski cast one of the decisive votes in favor of the sweeping Trump budget and priorities package.
“My hope is that the House is gonna look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet,” Murkowski told reporters Tuesday, after the Senate passed the bill in dramatic fashion, ending a 28-hour vote-a-rama.
The legislation narrowly cleared the Senate with Murkowski emerging as a pivotal holdout whose support tipped the balance to a 50-50 split. Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote. Murkowski’s decision came after last-minute negotiations secured her a provision doubling grant funding to rural hospitals, which will pour money into rural Alaska.
But despite helping pass the bill, Murkowski now says the package still needs work and is urging her colleagues in the House to reject it in its current form and send it back.
Adding to the political firestorm, former Democratic Congresswoman Mary Peltola weighed in on social media Tuesday, posting a sharp critique of her “former colleagues,” accusing them of being bought by billionaires. Though Peltola didn’t name names, her post was widely interpreted as a jab at both Murkowski and Sen. Dan Sullivan, Alaska’s two sitting senators.
The irony wasn’t lost on political observers: Peltola’s own 2024 congressional campaigns was among the most well-funded in Alaska history, with millions in support from out-of-state donors and progressive PACs. Despite the backing of billionaires like Reid Hoffman, Michael Bloomberg, and Dustin Moskovitz, she lost her re-election bid in 2024 to Republican Nick Begich III. Adding to the irony is that Murkowski was a supporter of Peltola when she first ran for office, and Murkowski opposed Begich. Her support was more private in 2024, but still detectable. Now, Peltola has tuned on her.
