In an unprecedented display of disloyalty, a GOP senator from Alaska spoke out against President Trump, describing her feelings of fear about speaking her mind while criticizing the work of the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) due to its impact on federal jobs.
For context, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), known for being an outspoken critic of President Trump dating back to his first term, shared in an April 14, 2025, meeting of Alaskan nonprofit leaders that she felt that the Trump Administration was in the wrong in their efforts to reduce government waste, fraud, and corruption, referencing federal layoffs and the potential for an overhaul to Medicaid.
During her speech, Sen. Murkowski spoke emphatically about the widespread fear that she said had arisen in response to the work of DOGE, telling the crowd, “We are all afraid. It’s quite a statement. But we are in a time and place where I certainly have not been before. And I’ll tell you, I’m oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice because retaliation is real. And that’s not right.”
Continuing, Sen. Murkowski described the changes made by DOGE and the Trump Administration as “head-spinning,” and said, “It’s as hard as anything I have been engaged in in the 20-plus years I’ve been in the Senate.” The senator added, “I’m saying that things are happening so fast through this Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE…none of us understand the half of it.”
Moving on to the subject of Medicaid, Sen. Murkowski described proposed budget cuts as “devastating,” going on to say, “There are a growing number of Republicans…who are saying, ‘Medicaid is off the table.’ The senator added, “I’m not saying you can’t touch Medicaid at all. What I hope we’re moving away from is an $880 billion cut to Medicaid. Because if that happens, this is going to be a very, very different state.”
Next, Sen. Murkowski recounted the effects of DOGE-led layoffs on people she had met personally, appealing to emotion by saying, “I’ve been in airports, I’ve been in meetings, I’ve been in hallways and in my own office in Washington, D.C., where people have shared what has happened within their world, where they end up in tears.”
Explaining further, Sen. Murkowski said that the unnamed individuals who she spoke to were “in tears because they thought they were in a profession they’d given so much to and thought that they were doing well, and literally, with no notice whatsoever, are terminated and told that their work performance was not satisfactory, which was not true.”
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In addition, according to earlier coverage from Politico, Sen. Murkowski described Elon Musk and DOGE further, saying they were “traumatizing people” and cryptically adding, “I’m not going to compromise my own integrity by hiding from my words when I feel they need to be spoken. And it may be that Elon Musk has decided he’s going to take the next billion dollars that he makes off of Starlink and put it directly against Lisa Murkowski.”
Watch Sen. Murkowski’s statement:
Featured image credit: screenshot from the embedded video