'Assert our responsibility': Senate Republican calls on Congress to 'push back' against Trump

12 February

Legal expert: Trump lawyers 'even know' his moves to reshape government are 'highly illegal'

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is diverging from many Republican lawmakers by arguing that Congress needs to stand up to President Donald Trump as he overrides their authority, Alaska Public Media reported Wednesday.

“To have the executive basically come in and dismantle something that was legislatively created — that's outside the bounds of the executive,” she said. “So it requires us, in the legislative branch, to then assert our responsibility, which is to not cede the authority.”

“You got to claim it back,” she added.

Murkowski has earned a reputation as a moderate who will challenge Trump and can act as an important swing vote. She voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial after the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection and didn't rule out leaving the party last year. She rebuffed his proposal to buy Greeland, and she voted against his pick for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. However, more recently, she has voiced her support for controversial Trump nominees Robert Kennedy, Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard.

As for how to stand up to Trump, Murkowski offered a possible example in the form of Congressional earmarks, when legislation directs funding to a specific recipient. She called it “Ia small example of, I think, some of the steps that have to be taken to say that these authorities are the Congress’ and to push back."

Another option, she continued, would be a lawsuit. Alaska Public Media's Liz Ruskin wrote: “Ultimately, the Supreme Court could tell Trump not to tread on the authority of Congress."

But this approach only works if Trump allows it to -- something experts have pointed to as a potential constitutional crisis.

“You're now having some in the executive branch saying, ‘We don't think the courts should be deciding this. We think that this is our authority,'" Murkowski said. “You then call into question the legitimacy of your courts ... That's not a recipe for good governance.”

Murkowski expanded on this idea to reporters Tuesday: “We have a judicial system. If you don’t like the ruling, you can appeal the ruling and you can follow that through. But we are a nation of laws, and it is not necessarily for you or I to be the final arbiter here. This is why we entrust the judiciary with this responsibility,” she said.

Click here to read Alaska Public Media's full report.

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