Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said it's possible she will switch parties and become a Democrat

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101. Maddow Blog-Lisa Murkowski's commitment to the Trump-era Republican Party appears increasingly shaky

Last edited Tue Jun 24, 2025, 11:24 AM - Edit history (1)

If the Alaska senator does leave the GOP, no one in the party can say they weren’t warned.

Hey Senator, I hope you do change parties to Independent to caucus with Democrats and bring along your Republican friends and colleagues!

Lisa Murkowski’s commitment to the Trump-era Republican Party appears increasingly shaky www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— Tabby (@tabbys-corner.bsky.social) 2025-06-24T15:15:07.477Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/lisa-murkowski-republican-alaska-trump-rcna214708

As part of her promotional efforts for in “Far from Home: An Alaskan Senator Faces the Extreme Climate of Washington, D.C.,” Murkowski has also made fresh comments about her party affiliation, some of which have raised eyebrows. Politico reported:

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, one of President Donald Trump’s most vocal critics in the Senate GOP, said in a podcast on Monday that there are certain situations in which she’d consider becoming an independent and caucusing with Democrats. ‘There may be that possibility,’ she told Galen Druke in an interview excerpt of his GD Politics podcast, scheduled to post in full on Tuesday.

“There is some openness to exploring something different than the status quo,” she told the host.

It’s important not to overstate matters, and those expecting an imminent announcement from Murkowski about her party label should probably temper their expectations. Indeed, the Alaskan specifically told NBC News this week that while she’s “very independent-minded,” she’s not planning to leave the Republican Party.

That said, Murkowski also told Semafor that she’s “considered” leaving the GOP, adding, “Do I feel that within my Republican conference, I always feel like I’m right here in my political home? No.”......

More than any Republican in Congress, the Alaskan can be counted on for candor about the state of her party in the Trump era. In fact, late last year, about a month after the president won a second term, the senator conceded that she felt “more comfortable” with no party label than with “an identity as a Republican.”

The comments came a few years after Murkowski also said, in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack, “If the Republican Party has become nothing more than the party of Trump, I sincerely question whether this is the party for me.”

I don’t pretend to know what’s going to happen, but if Murkowski does leave the GOP, no one in the party can say they weren’t warned.