Sen. Lisa Murkowski has long been recognized for her constant dissent within her party and her disapproval of President Donald Trump. In recent remarks now being reported around the mainstream media across the country, she highlighted the pervasive fear among her Republican colleagues regarding potential retaliation from Trump.
“We are all afraid,” Murkowski stated at a summit of nonprofit leaders in Anchorage. She elaborated on the perceived threat of political retaliation, which is the normal part of the political process. She said she feels anxious about using her voice in the current political climate.
“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,” she said, as reported by media present.
This contrasts with earlier statements, in which she said she was not afraid, but her colleagues were afraid because they saw what she goes through.
On March 19, she told reporters that her Republican colleagues are “zip-lipped” and “afraid they’re going to be taken down” or “primaried” for opposing Trump or Elon Musk’s policies, particularly those related to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which she has verbally opposed.
“They’re looking at how many things are being thrown at me, and it’s like, ‘Maybe I just better duck and cover,’” she said.
Murkowski’s recent comments reflect a shift from her previous assertiveness to a more cautious approach. She does not come up for reelection until the end of Trump’s presidential term, in 2028.
Murkowski broke away from Trump long ago — even before he won in 2016, when it was clear that she did not vote for him. In 2021, she voted to convict him during his impeachment trial, a vote that she took after he was no longer in office. More recently, she has opposed several of his nominees, and criticized his foreign policy leadership. In 2024, she would not say who she voted for, but did say that she did not vote for Trump.
