Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell defended Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Wednesday after President Trump said she would “never recover” from her vote during Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
“Well, she’s certainly going to recover,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press. “This is a woman who was elected with a write-in vote in 2010. She’s about as strong as she can possibly be in Alaska. No one is going to beat her.”
The Alaskan senator was the only Republican to vote against the president’s Supreme Court pick. In a statement, she explained that now-Justice Kavanaugh was a good man, but she believed he was not “the right man for the court at this time.”
The top Republican senator broke with Mr. Trump, who told The Washington Post Saturday that Ms. Murkowski would face a strong backlash for her decision.
“I think the people from Alaska will never forgive her for what she did,” he said.
Mr. McConnell said he was proud to have Ms. Murkowski in the Republican conference and said she was in “very good standing.” He touted her support for Justice Neil Gorsuch and the 26 circuit judges confirmed by the Senate.
The president and the majority leader did not discuss their opinion of Ms. Murkowski, but Mr. McConnell said he would tell Mr. Trump that he supported his Republican colleague.
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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