Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, voted for 19 of the 21 nominees of former President Joe Biden’s cabinet in 2021, a Fox News digital analysis shows.
Murkowski voted against the confirmation of former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerro and did not vote on the nomination of former Labor Secretary Marty Walsh.
She voted in favor of Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Senate President criticizes “anonymous sources with ulterior motives,” reads Hegseth’s nomination
Senator Lisa Murkowski voted to confirm all but two of Joe Biden’s then-Cabinet nominees. (Getty Images)
Alaska’s senior senator faces a series of attacks from the president Donald TrumpSupporters because of her opposition to his nominee to lead the Department of Defense, Pete Hegseth.
“I commend Pete Hegseth’s service to our nation, including leading troops in combat and advocating for our veterans. However, those accomplishments do not alleviate my significant concerns about his nomination,” Murkowski said in a lengthy statement posted on X this week.
She raised concerns about his lack of relevant experience in Pentagon policy, as well as allegations of mismanagement of two veterans’ organizations he previously led and allegations of sexual abuse and heavy drinking – all of which Hegseth has denied.
“While the allegations of sexual abuse and excessive drinking do nothing to allay my concerns, Mr. Hegseth’s admitted past conduct, including repeated infidelity, demonstrates a lack of judgment unbecoming of someone leading our armed forces,” he wrote. Murkowski.
Murkowski, a moderate Republican, will not support Trump picking Hegseth as defense secretary
Senator Lisa Murkowski opposes Pete Hegseth’s nomination. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Among those who criticized her stance was Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., a former Navy SEAL. Van Orden took aim at Murkowski for voting for Biden’s Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin for his leadership during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“You voted for the two men responsible for killing these 13 heroes. The internet is forever, your time in power is not,” Van Orden wrote on X, referring to the service members killed in a suicide bombing in Kabul.
“I strongly encourage you to fire the staff who gave you this terrible advice and wrote your X post.”
However, some on the right agree with Murkowski. One GOP lawmaker previously told Fox News Digital about Hegseth: “The military has fired people who behaved like Hegseth. [Defense Secretary] will cause discipline problems. “
Senator Lisa Murkowski opposed then-President Joe Biden’s nomination of HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Murkowski Politico said In 2020, “all presidents are entitled to their own cabinet,” but it was the Senate’s responsibility to make those people “good, qualified credible candidates.”
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Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who is also opposing Hegsethhe voted for all of Biden’s 2021 cabinet nominees.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Murkowski’s office for comment.
