Sen. Lisa Murkowski is putting her power as a moderate lawmaker to the test early in the new Trump era by announcing she’ll vote no on one of his most controversial cabinet nominees, Pete Hegseth.
An hour after Murkowski’s announcement, Sen. Susan Collins posted on X that she would also not support Hegseth, Trump’s embattled pick for defense secretary. In a 51-49 vote, the Senate advanced Hegseth’s nomination Thursday. His final confirmation vote is scheduled to be held on Friday. Both Collins and Murkowski voted against moving ahead with his nomination.
Hegseth can only afford to lose three Republican votes, and Murkowski’s announcement Thursday that she’ll oppose him puts pressure on other Republicans to tread carefully. It also serves as a check of her influence in the conference.