The Trump administration is threatening repercussions for Alaska because of Sen. Lisa Murkowski‘s no vote on the Obamacare repeal bill earlier this week, defying President Trump’s prodding that lawmakers get a bill to his desk.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke called Murkowski and fellow Alaskan Sen. Dan Sullivan, both Republicans, on Wednesday, warning them that there could be problems for their state. Murkowski had recently traveled with Zinke on a trip to her state and the Arctic. He had promised her movement on a number of energy, mining, and infrastructure projects in Alaska that his agency oversees.
But now it appears those promises could be forfeited because she voted against a motion to begin debate on legislation to repeal Obamacare Tuesday.
Sullivan said Zinke’s message was “troubling,” according to the Alaska Dispatch News.
“I’m not going to go into the details, but I fear that the strong economic growth, pro-energy, pro-mining, pro-jobs and personnel from Alaska who are part of those policies are going to stop,” the senator said.
Sullivan told the newspaper he tried to “push back” on behalf of the Alaskan people, saying the state is “facing some difficult times and there’s a lot of enthusiasm for the policies that Secretary Zinke and the president have been talking about with regard to our economy. But the message was pretty clear.”
Trump called Murkowski out on Twitter for standing with the Democrats in opposing the procedural measure. The vote was 51-50, with Vice President Mike Pence casting the tie-breaking vote.
“Senator @lisamurkowski of the Great State of Alaska really let the Republicans, and our country, down yesterday. Too bad!” the president tweeted.
Murkowski has not responded publicly to the message the administration is sending to her and her state.
Democrats in the lower chamber, however, took advantage of the reports to admonish the president. “Running a department of the federal government means you serve the American people as a protector of their rights and freedoms. It doesn’t mean you serve the president as a bag man for his political vendettas,” said Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, which oversees Zinke’s agency.
“Threatening to punish your rivals as political blackmail is something we’d see from the Kremlin. Secretary Zinke’s willingness to deliver these threats speaks volumes about his ethical standards and demonstrates that Interior’s policy positions are up for political grabs, rather than based on science or the public interest,” Grijalva said.
