President Trump singled out Sen. Lisa Murkowski Wednesday morning on Twitter over how the Alaska Republican voted Tuesday on healthcare.
“Senator @lisamurkowski of the Great State of Alaska really let the Republicans, and our country, down yesterday,” he wrote. “Too bad!”
Senator @lisamurkowski of the Great State of Alaska really let the Republicans, and our country, down yesterday. Too bad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
Murkowski first joined Democrats in voting against the motion to allow debate to begin on a bill that repealed major provisions of Obamacare. Republican Sen. Susan Collins also voted against the measure, which was only passed 51-50 after Vice President Mike Pence stepped in to break the tie.
“I have repeatedly said that healthcare reform, and especially major entitlement reform, should go through the committee process where stakeholders can weigh in and ideas can be vetted in a bipartisan forum,” Murkowski said in a statement on the motion to proceed vote.
“I voted ‘no’ today to give the Senate another chance to take this to the committee process. I still believe that’s the best route, but we will now have this debate on the open floor. We all recognize that we have much work to do to address the healthcare concerns in this country. My commitment is to work with all of my colleagues in the Senate to find solutions that benefit all Americans by increasing access and reducing the cost of care.”
My statement on today on the motion to proceed vote. pic.twitter.com/d0Y7SJ93Dt
— Sen. Lisa Murkowski (@lisamurkowski) July 26, 2017
The Alaska senator then joined eight other Republicans in voting against a repeal and replacement proposal later on Tuesday.