Latest news with #McCarthyesque
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Barabak: Alaska Republican speaks truth about Trump: 'Retaliation is real. And that's not right.'
Lisa Murkowski, Alaska's longtime U.S. senator, was home from Washington this week, touching base. As part of her rounds, the Republican lawmaker appeared in Anchorage before an annual meeting of tribal leaders and nonprofit executives. Inevitably, the discussion turned to the wrecking-ball presidency of Donald Trump and his autocratic and, frankly, un-American penchant for siccing the government on his political foes. Asked what she had to say to those living in fear, or who represent constituents afraid of today's McCarthyesque climate, Murkowski responded with honesty and bracing candor. "We are all afraid," she said. She then paused five long seconds, her face a rictus of wonderment and concern, allowing the observation and admission — from a sitting member of the United States Senate, no less — to sink in. 'It's quite a statement," Murkowski went on. Another brief pause, then several starts and stops. "But we're in a time and a place where ... I've not been here before," she said. "And I'll tell you, I'm oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice, because retaliation is real. And that's not right.' It's a fine pass we've come to when simply speaking the truth and stating the obvious are considered newsworthy, much less an act of courage. But here we are, folks. America, 2025. Read more: Barabak: He's been an outspoken Trump critic. Others fear the price he and his family pay If you wish to be cynical, there are reasons why Murkowski — whose comments Monday quickly ricocheted across the country — may be more prepared to speak out against Trump than her timorous Republican peers. Trump easily carried Alaska all three times he ran for president. But his showing — the 54% of the vote he received in November was a high mark — is a shadow of his blowout victories elsewhere. Trump won Wyoming with 70% of the vote, West Virginia with 68% and Oklahoma and North Dakota with 65% support. His executive order changing the name of North America's tallest peak, Denali, back to Mt. McKinley has landed among Alaskans with a decided thud. A survey of adult residents found they opposed the switch by more than 2 to 1. In other words, the Last Frontier is not exactly head over heels for Trump. Besides, Murkowski won't face reelection — should she decide to run for a fifth term — until 2028, when Trump's time in office will finally, mercifully be winding down. Those factors, however, don't take away from the starch in the senator's spine or her willingness to stand up while so many others in her party cower in submission. Give Murkowski her due: She doesn't shrink from a fight. In 2010, she notched a rare write-in victory after losing the GOP nomination to a right-wing "tea party" Republican. In 2021, Murkowski was one of just seven Republican senators — and the only one to face constituents in the next election cycle — to vote to convict Trump in an impeachment trial for inciting the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Her act drew a censure from state GOP leaders and the petulance you would expect from Trump, who urged some Republican, any Republican — 'If you have a pulse, I'm with you!' — to challenge Murkowski's reelection. When Kelly Tshibaka, a 2020 election denier, stepped forward, Trump appeared at an Anchorage rally to lend his support. Murkowski won anyway. She may be the state's most popular living politician, said Amy Lovecraft, a political science professor at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. "She knows the state," Lovecraft said. "She gets stuff done. She's a doer." She's also outspokenly independent, a rare commodity in today's increasing cult-like GOP. In fact, the whole notion of checks and balances — a foundational principle of American democracy — has gone out the window, Murkowski suggested in Anchorage. "Right now, we are not balancing as the Congress," she said, expressing concern, as well, over Trump's attempted undermining of the judiciary. Read more: Barabak: The fight over Trump's legal bullying campaign makes for odd alliances Murkowski has taken on Trump more than once. She refused to vote for him in 2024 — she didn't support Kamala Harris, either — and was one of the few Republicans in office to publicly condemn Trump's shameful pardon of the Jan. 6 insurrectionists. She opposed Pete Hegseth's risible nomination as Defense secretary and voted to undo Trump's heedless tariffs on Canada. She's also expressed concerns about Elon Musk's wanton assault on federal employees. "Things are happening so fast through this Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE" — the fictive name of Musk's made-up agency — "None of us understand the half of it. It's literally piecing it together,' Murkowski told those gathered in Anchorage. Speaking on Monday to the Alaska Daily News, Muskowski recounted numerous conversations with some of those summarily fired in Musk's precipitous purge. Many were in tears. "They thought that they were in a profession they've given so much to and thought that they were doing well," Murkowski said. "And literally, with no notice whatsoever, [they were] terminated and told that their work performance was not satisfactory, which was not true. "These are real emotions. These are real people," she said. "These are real fears and they need to be heard." Indeed. Sadly, for now, Murkowski is one of vanishingly few Republican politicians with the guts to speak up against the party's rogue president — a brave, but lone, voice in the wilderness. Get the latest from Mark Z. BarabakFocusing on politics out West, from the Golden Gate to the U.S. me up. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Alaska Republican speaks truth about Trump: ‘Retaliation is real. And that's not right.'
Lisa Murkowski, Alaska's longtime U.S. senator, was home from Washington this week, touching base. As part of her rounds, the Republican lawmaker appeared in Anchorage before an annual meeting of tribal leaders and nonprofit executives. Inevitably, the discussion turned to the wrecking-ball presidency of Donald Trump and his autocratic and, frankly, un-American penchant for siccing the government on his political foes. Asked what she had to say to those living in fear, or who represent constituents afraid of today's McCarthyesque climate, Murkowski responded with honesty and bracing candor. 'We are all afraid,' she said. She then paused five long seconds, her face a rictus of wonderment and concern, allowing the observation and admission — from a sitting member of the United States Senate, no less — to sink in. 'It's quite a statement,' Murkowski went on. Another brief pause, then several starts and stops. 'But we're in a time and a place where ... I've not been here before,' she said. 'And I'll tell you, I'm oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice, because retaliation is real. And that's not right.' It's a fine pass we've come to when simply speaking the truth and stating the obvious are considered newsworthy, much less an act of courage. But here we are, folks. America, 2025. If you wish to be cynical, there are reasons why Murkowski — whose comments Monday quickly ricocheted across the country — may be more prepared to speak out against Trump than her timorous Republican peers. Trump easily carried Alaska all three times he ran for president. But his showing — the 54% of the vote he received in November was a high mark — is a shadow of his blowout victories elsewhere. Trump won Wyoming with 70% of the vote, West Virginia with 68% and Oklahoma and North Dakota with 65% support. His executive order changing the name of North America's tallest peak, Denali, back to Mt. McKinley has landed among Alaskans with a decided thud. A survey of adult residents found they opposed the switch by more than 2 to 1. In other words, the Last Frontier is not exactly head over heels for Trump. Besides, Murkowski won't face reelection — should she decide to run for a fifth term — until 2028, when Trump's time in office will finally, mercifully be winding down. Those factors, however, don't take away from the starch in the senator's spine or her willingness to stand up while so many others in her party cower in submission. Give Murkowski her due: She doesn't shrink from a fight. In 2010, she notched a rare write-in victory after losing the GOP nomination to a right-wing 'tea party' Republican. In 2021, Murkowski was one of just seven Republican senators — and the only one to face constituents in the next election cycle — to vote to convict Trump in an impeachment trial for inciting the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Her act drew a censure from state GOP leaders and the petulance you would expect from Trump, who urged some Republican, any Republican — 'If you have a pulse, I'm with you!' — to challenge Murkowski's reelection. When Kelly Tshibaka, a 2020 election denier, stepped forward, Trump appeared at an Anchorage rally to lend his support. Murkowski won anyway. She may be the state's most popular living politician, said Amy Lovecraft, a political science professor at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. 'She knows the state,' Lovecraft said. 'She gets stuff done. She's a doer.' She's also outspokenly independent, a rare commodity in today's increasing cult-like GOP. In fact, the whole notion of checks and balances — a foundational principle of American democracy — has gone out the window, Murkowski suggested in Anchorage. 'Right now, we are not balancing as the Congress,' she said, expressing concern, as well, over Trump's attempted undermining of the judiciary. Murkowski has taken on Trump more than once. She refused to vote for him in 2024 — she didn't support Kamala Harris, either — and was one of the few Republicans in office to publicly condemn Trump's shameful pardon of the Jan. 6 insurrectionists. She opposed Pete Hegseth's risible nomination as Defense secretary and voted to undo Trump's heedless tariffs on Canada. She's also expressed concerns about Elon Musk's wanton assault on federal employees. 'Things are happening so fast through this Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE' — the fictive name of Musk's made-up agency — 'None of us understand the half of it. It's literally piecing it together,' Murkowski told those gathered in Anchorage. Speaking on Monday to the Alaska Daily News, Muskowski recounted numerous conversations with some of those summarily fired in Musk's precipitous purge. Many were in tears. 'They thought that they were in a profession they've given so much to and thought that they were doing well,' Murkowski said. 'And literally, with no notice whatsoever, [they were] terminated and told that their work performance was not satisfactory, which was not true. 'These are real emotions. These are real people,' she said. 'These are real fears and they need to be heard.' Indeed. Sadly, for now, Murkowski is one of vanishingly few Republican politicians with the guts to speak up against the party's rogue president — a brave, but lone, voice in the wilderness.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rep. Frost on ICE arrest of Columbia graduate: ‘This should scare everyone'
Democratic lawmakers are condemning the arrest of a former Columbia University student by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the revocation of his legal status in the United States, including Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) warning it should 'scare everyone.' 'This should scare everyone. The Trump admin revoked Mahmoud's legal status, kidnapped him, and is now holding him in an ICE detention facility without any due process,' Frost wrote Monday on the social platform X. 'Trump is an authoritarian, testing the limits to see how much he can get away with. He won't stop here,' Frost continued. Earlier Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed Mahmoud Khalil, a green card-holding Columbia University graduate and pro-Palestinian activist, was detained by ICE. 'We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported,' Rubio wrote on X, sharing a news report regarding Khalil. Other House Democrats have also condemned the arrest. Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) said Khalil's arrest is a violation of his First Amendment rights. 'If they can target Mahmoud Khalil's First Amendment rights, they can target yours. The whole point of the First Amendment is that it protects speech – even if it's unpopular or you don't like what they have to say,' she said Monday in a post on X. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) also took to X to condemn the arrest, calling it a 'McCarthyesque action in response to the exercise of first amendment rights to free speech.' Nadler said he was monitoring the details of the case. 'I am monitoring the situation regarding the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil and look forward to receiving additional information regarding the specifics of this case,' he said on X. 'Such action is a frightening violation of immigration law that will not make Jewish students safer on campus and will only feed the Trump Administration's political war on education and hollow lip service on discrimination against minorities,' Nadler added. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said, 'If the federal government can disappear a legal US permanent resident without reason or warrant, then they can disappear US citizens too.' 'Anyone – left, right, or center – who has highlighted the importance of constitutional rights + free speech should be sounding the alarm now,' she said in an X post. A post from the Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats' official X account shared a picture of Khalil on Monday and demanded his release. Replying to the post, the White House account wrote, ''This is the first arrest of many to come.' —President Trump'. Khalil was reportedly arrested at his university residence Saturday. He has been described by the Student Workers of Columbia labor union as a 'lead negotiator' during pro-Palestinian protests held on the campus last year. He had called on Columbia to reinstate its 'Sanctuary Campus Policy' following reports that ICE accessed multiple buildings at the school Friday and Saturday. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, told The Associated Press that Khalil's arrest was 'in support of President Trump's executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
11-03-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Rep. Frost on ICE arrest of Columbia graduate: ‘This should scare everyone'
Democratic lawmakers are condemning the arrest of a former Columbia University student by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the revocation of his legal status in the United States, with Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) warning it should 'scare everyone.' 'This should scare everyone. The Trump admin revoked Mahmoud's legal status, kidnapped him, and is now holding him in an ICE detention facility without any due process,' Frost wrote on the social platform X on Monday. 'Trump is an authoritarian, testing the limits to see how much he can get away with. He won't stop here,' Frost continued. Earlier on Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that Mahmoud Khalil, a green card-holding Columbia University graduate and pro-Palestinian activist, was detained by ICE. 'We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported,' Rubio wrote on X, sharing a news report regarding Khalil. Other House Democrats have also condemned the arrest. Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) said Khalil's arrest is a violation of his first amendment rights. 'If they can target Mahmoud Khalil's First Amendment rights, they can target yours. The whole point of the First Amendment is that it protects speech – even if it's unpopular or you don't like what they have to say,' she said in a post on X Monday. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) also took to X to condemn the arrest, calling it a 'McCarthyesque action in response to the exercise of first amendment rights to free speech.' Nadler said he was monitoring the details of the case. 'I am monitoring the situation regarding the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil and look forward to receiving additional information regarding the specifics of this case,' he said on X. 'Such action is a frightening violation of immigration law that will not make Jewish students safer on campus and will only feed the Trump Administration's political war on education and hollow lip service on discrimination against minorities,' Nadler added. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said, 'If the federal government can disappear a legal US permanent resident without reason or warrant, then they can disappear US citizens too.' 'Anyone – left, right, or center – who has highlighted the importance of constitutional rights + free speech should be sounding the alarm now,' she said in an X post. A post from the House Judiciary Committee Democrats' official X account shared a picture of Khalil on Monday and demanded his release. Replying to the post, the White House account wrote, ''This is the first arrest of many to come.' —President Trump'. Khalil was reportedly arrested at his university residence on Saturday. He has been described by the Student Workers of Columbia labor union as a 'lead negotiator' during pro-Palestine protests held on the campus last year. He had called on Columbia to reinstate its 'Sanctuary Campus Policy' following reports that ICE accessed multiple buildings at the school Friday and Saturday. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, told The Associated Press, that Khalil's arrest was 'in support of President Trump's executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism.'
