WASHINGTON — Lisa Murkowski says the Senate shouldn’t tell the House what to do, and that’s why she did not co-sponsor a resolution last week condemning the U.S. House for its impeachment inquiry into President Trump.
“These are rules that the House has, as it relates to impeachment,” she said.
She, Mitt Romney of Utah and Susan Collins of Maine were the only Republican senators not to sign on as co-sponsors.
Partisans will likely find her answer unsatisfying, but Murkowski prides herself on her dedication to process.
“I think my middle name was ‘Process,'” she said. “I am so boring this way.”
She did say she thinks House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has made it easy for critics to call the process a sham and a mockery by not establishing what the rules are.
Monday, though, Pelosi announced the House will vote on a set of procedures. Murkowski says that’s a crucial step as the House heads toward impeachment.
“In order for that to be respected, you have to have a process that people believe has credibility,” she said. “And so when everything is done behind closed doors, how do we know? How do we know?”
Trump and his defenders say the inquiry is a witch hunt. Murkowski says she’ll wait for a Senate trial of the president before she calls the impeachment invalid.
“And, it may be that I, too, come to that determination,” she said. “But if I am going to be a trier of fact, I think I need to listen to those facts as they are presented to me.”
The House vote on the rules for proceeding is set for Thursday.
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her atlruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Lizhere.
