Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) described herself Thursday as more of a “Ronald Reagan Republican” than a “Trump Republican.”
“I don't think I've ever hidden the fact that I'm more of a Ronald Reagan Republican than a Trump Republican. And someone said, 'Well, you're not really a Republican at all.'” And I said, 'You can call me whatever you want,'” Murkowski said at an event in Washington hosted by the centrist group No Labels. Politico reported.
She also said she is “not attached to labels” and would rather be known for “trying to do the right thing for our country and the people I serve, regardless of party affiliation.” '', Politico reported.
Murkowski added that he “never shed the party label” and insisted he was “still a Republican,” Politico wrote.
Murkowski has said she did not vote for President-elect Trump in 2016, 2020 and 2024, and has previously floated the idea of leaving the party amid the Republican Party's shift toward Trump. She was also one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict the president-elect for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
In an interview earlier this year, the senator teased his candidacy, saying, “Yes, I think I'm very independent-minded. It's unfortunate that our party seems to be becoming Trump's party.”
When pressed further, he said: “I'm going through a very interesting political period, so I'll leave it at that.”
Murkowski has recently been in the news as she is seen as one of the most difficult votes to secure in the Senate's bid to confirm Pete Hegseth, President Trump's nominee for the top Pentagon post.
She was reportedly one of four senators who failed to support former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) as attorney general.
