Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) on Sunday came to his colleague Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-AK) defense following backlash from former President Trump and the Alaska Republican Party over her vote to convict Trump for “incitement of insurrection.”
During an interview on ABC News Sunday morning, Sullivan was asked to respond to Trump and the Alaska GOP calling for the defeat of Murkowski when she’s up for re-election next year.
Following Murkowski’s vote to convict Trump after the former president incited the mob behind the deadly Capitol insurrection earlier this year, the Alaska GOP voted to censure her. Similarly, Trump has continued his ongoing crusade to attack Republicans who dared to buck him, telling CPAC attendees to “get rid of them all” and Politico earlier this month that he plans to campaign against Murkowski for being “disloyal.”
Sullivan maintained his support for Murkowski in his interview on ABC News by nodding to her “strong” support of him throughout the years.
“Well, look, when I ran in 2014 and beat a Democrat incumbent and we got the Senate majority back, Sen. Murkowski was a strong supporter of mine. And in 2016 I supported her,” Sullivan said. “And just in my re-election in 2020, where, you know, the national Democratic Party came in big in Alaska, massive amount of money, Sen. Murkowski was a strong supporter of mine and we won that re-election very strongly.”
After acknowledging that the two Alaska senators don’t agree on everything — Sullivan voted to acquit Trump in the former president’s second impeachment trial last month – Sullivan reaffirmed his plans to support Murkowski if she runs for re-election.
Among the group of Senate Republicans who voted to convict Trump last month, Murkowski is the sole senator who is up for re-election next year.
Sullivan’s vocal support for Murkowski’s re-election comes a day after Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) staved off censure from the Maine Republican Party.
Republican lawmakers who voted in favor of Trump’s impeachment in the aftermath of the deadly Capitol insurrection continue to face intraparty backlash. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Richard Burr (R-NC) were quickly censured by their respective state’s GOP within days of their convictions votes. Sens. Ben Sasse (R-NE) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) narrowly avoided similar fates in their states.
Watch Sullivan’s remarks below:
Sen. Dan Sullivan tells @jonkarl if Sen. Lisa Murkowski runs again, "I'm going to support her."
"We don't agree on everything, but we make a good team for Alaska." https://t.co/dgttMCcYEF pic.twitter.com/JR9euapm6B
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 28, 2021
Sullivan’s statement was hardly a “defense;” at best it showed a modicum of loyalty towards a fellow Republican, a trait his peers would be unlikely to assign a great deal of blame for.
Sully’s got six years to shake and bake, dodge and weave for supporting Murk. No John F. Kennedy here
It’s news when a Republican does the obviously right thing, even if just out of pure self-interest. After all,
Agreed. But the key phrase here is, “his peers.” The Trumpers seem interested in loyalty if it happens to be shown toward Trump.
You are quite right. I look at this story with more pleasure than not.