Republican Alaska Senator Lisa Murkovski said her colleagues are afraid to talk against some of President Donald Trump’s actions and key advisor Elon Musk because they think they will be “overthrown” and “matmes”.
“You have all with a zipper. Don’t say a word, as they are afraid to be downloaded, they will be presented, they will be given names in the media,” Murkovski, one of the few Republicans wanting to publicly criticize some of the president’s actions so far in their second term, “told reporters on Tuesday.
“You know what, we can’t be a cow so we don’t talk.”
Senator Lisa Murkovski spoke to squeeze outside the Senate Chamber, February 20, 2025 in Washington.
Alex Wroblewski/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Both Trump and Musk threatened for primary disagree in the party. Trump has recently threatened to lead the charge against Republican representative Thomas Massie in Primemeriz after the congressman said he would vote not for Trump -backed resolution to government financing.
“It may be that Elon Musk decides that he will take the next billions of dollars he makes from Starlink and put him directly against Lisa Murkovtsi. And you know what can happen. But I don’t give up for a minute, an opportunity to try to defend Alaska,” she said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Murkovski addressed Alaska’s legislation, saying it was “disturbed” by how the Trump administration refers to federal officials as part of Musk’s efforts to reduce federal workforce.
“I think any person in this chamber would agree that the federal government is too big,” she said. “I support the mission behind the Table. I understand it. We need to find effectiveness in the government.”
Elon Musk Boards Air Force One on the Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, March 14, 2025.
Kevin Lamark/Reuters
She said that the reduction of the workforce has a “absolute meaning”, but demanded to make the “right way”. Murkovski said the administration’s approach “lacks the basic decency you need for real people.”
“Public officials are not our enemies. They are our friends. They are our neighbors, they are an integral part of our economy and our ability to function as a state and a state and their work can be undervalued.”
She also said the Trump administration “tests the court” by ignoring the federal judge’s order to stop two flights to deport alleged band members in Salvador over the weekend.
“I do not think that any of us would not agree that when you have members of a really terrible gang who have done some terrible things and who are not in this country legally, we do not want them here,” she said. “But even when we want to take them out of our country, there is a process, it is called a proper process. Here we follow our own rules.”
“When the court orders are denied, it weakens our courts. When people no longer believe that the justice system is there for them, what do we have in this country?”
Murkovski also touched foreign policy in his remarks, noting the proximity of his home country to Russia and Canada.
President Donald Trump takes a question from a reporter before embarking on the Air Force One while deviating from the Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, March 14, 2025.
Kevin Lamark/Reuters
In Trump’s second term, he imposed significant tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum and repeatedly expressed his desire to turn Canada into the 51st country. Trump’s moves lead Canadian boycotts to the products of the United States, as well as protests.
“How we got to a place where we are fighting Canada now and doing well with Russia – it’s outside me,” Murkovski said.
After a speech, Murkovski turned to criticism that he may not do enough to return against the Trump administration and claims that he must “find places to work” with the president for whom Alaskas voted in November. The reliable-red state voted for Trump in the presidential election-54.5% for 41%, which voted for Vice President Kamala Harris.
She also said she would not give way to her beliefs – and said she would accept the consequences.
“I will not compromise my own integrity by hiding from my words when I feel it should be said,” she said. “I’ll take the criticism that comes.”
“I get a criticism of what I say, and then everyone else is like,” Well, how no one else says anything? “Well, understand it, because they look at how many things they throw me and think,” Maybe I will just patty and hide. “
Murkovski, who voted to condemn Trump in his second impeachment process in 2021, also opposed the confirmation of the Minister of Defense Pete Heget. However, she voted to confirm other Trump candidates, including National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabard and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Murkovski is ready for re -election in 2028.
