Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) Scorecard: Party Loyalty, Key Votes, and the Cost of Independence

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has served in the U.S. Senate since December 2002, making her the longest-serving Alaska senator in modern history and the chamber's second-most senior Republican woman. Over more than two decades in office, she has cultivated a reputation as one of the Senate's most genuinely independent voices — a moderate Republican who breaks with her caucus on high-profile votes, defends Alaska's unique interests with unusual tenacity, and consistently confounds attempts to categorize her as simply conservative or liberal.

This scorecard examines Murkowski's voting record through the first 14 months of the 119th Congress (January 2025 through early March 2026), drawing on data from GovTrack, Congress.gov, Senate roll call records, and contemporaneous reporting. The picture that emerges is of a senator who overwhelmingly supports the Republican agenda — but who has proven, repeatedly, that she will pay a political price to cast a vote she believes is right.

The Numbers: Party Loyalty at a Glance

According to reporting based on roll call tracking, Murkowski has voted in alignment with the Trump administration's position on approximately 85% of major Senate votes since Trump began his second term in January 2025. That figure puts her broadly in line with most Republican senators — but the 15% where she diverges is where her profile is made.

On lifetime attendance, GovTrack records show Murkowski has missed 384 of 7,968 roll call votes from January 2003 through early March 2026 — a 4.8% missed-vote rate. That is higher than the current median of 2.8% among senators with lifetime Senate records. Senators miss votes for many reasons: medical absences, family emergencies, travel on official business, and campaign activities. GovTrack does not track reasons for individual missed votes.

In terms of legislation, Murkowski has been the primary sponsor of 47 enacted bills — an unusually high number that reflects her seniority, her committee chairmanships, and her ability to build bipartisan coalitions around Alaska-specific issues including natural resources, tribal affairs, and Arctic policy.

Key Votes: Where Murkowski Broke Ranks in 2025–2026

The clearest window into Murkowski's independence is the handful of votes where she crossed the aisle against her party. Three stand out in the current Congress:

1. Pete Hegseth Confirmation (January 24, 2025)
When the Senate voted to confirm Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense, the vote ended in a 51–50 tie, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. Murkowski was one of just three Republicans — along with Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and then-Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) — to vote against confirmation. Senate Roll Call Vote #15, 119th Congress, 1st Session. Murkowski did not issue a detailed floor statement on her vote, but her opposition to Hegseth — a Fox News host with no military command experience at the time of nomination — reflected her longstanding focus on national security qualifications in defense leadership.

2. Emil Bove Judicial Confirmation (July 29, 2025)
Murkowski voted against confirming Emil Bove — a senior Justice Department attorney and Trump nominee — to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The Senate confirmed Bove 50–49. Murkowski joined all Senate Democrats and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) in voting no, as documented in her GovTrack voting history. Murkowski cited whistleblower accounts that Bove had directed DOJ attorneys to disregard the law. "When somebody who is going to be placed on the bench at the Circuit Court level, basically tells other attorneys that you should disregard the law — that, to me, is disqualifying," she said in a public interview. "Just plain and simple, disqualifying."

3. SAVE Act / SAVE America Act Opposition (February 2026)
In February 2026, Murkowski became the first Republican senator to publicly oppose the SAVE America Act — a Trump-backed election bill that would require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo ID at the polls. The House passed the bill on February 11, 2026, H.R. 22, 119th Congress. Murkowski issued a statement arguing the bill unconstitutionally federalized elections — citing the same states'-rights argument Republicans used in 2021 to kill Democratic election reform legislation. "When Democrats attempted to advance sweeping election reform legislation in 2021, Republicans were unanimous in opposition because it would have federalized elections, something we have long opposed," she wrote. "Now, I'm seeing proposals such as the SAVE Act and MEGA that would effectively do just that. Once again, I do not support these efforts." With the filibuster intact, the bill currently lacks the 60 Senate votes needed to advance.

The Big Beautiful Bill: When Alaska-First Logic Prevailed

Murkowski's most consequential vote in the 119th Congress — and arguably the most controversial among her home-state critics — was her yes vote on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on July 1, 2025. The legislation passed the Senate 51–50 after an extended vote-a-rama. H.R. 1, 119th Congress — the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Murkowski had initially sought Alaska-specific Medicaid protections worth over $6 billion, arguing the bill's provider tax reforms would disproportionately harm Alaska, which relies more heavily on federal Medicaid matching funds than most states. Those Alaska-specific provisions were ultimately ruled out of order by the Senate parliamentarian as violations of the Byrd Rule. Despite losing those provisions, Murkowski voted yes — citing protections she did secure for Alaska's wind and solar projects, which preserved federal tax credit eligibility for Alaska-based renewable energy development.

The vote drew sharp criticism from some in Alaska who argued she had abandoned constituents who depend on Medicaid. It also drew criticism from fiscal conservatives who viewed her early negotiating stance as an attempt to extract maximum home-state spending from a deficit-cutting bill.

Committee Power: Where Murkowski Holds Real Leverage

Murkowski's influence in the 119th Congress extends well beyond her floor votes. She chairs two significant committees:

• Senate Committee on Indian Affairs — Chair since January 2025. This chairmanship gives Murkowski control over legislation affecting tribal nations, Alaska Native corporations, and Indigenous land rights, a critical portfolio for a state where roughly 15% of residents identify as Alaska Native.
• Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies — Chair. This subcommittee controls billions in federal spending on public lands, environmental programs, and agencies including the Bureau of Land Management, the EPA, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

These chairmanships explain much of Murkowski's legislative productivity: GovTrack records 47 bills she sponsored that were enacted into law, including the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026 (S. 2431) and S. 1000, establishing an Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs — a priority she has pursued for years.

Ideology and Historical Context

Murkowski's political positioning has remained remarkably stable over two decades. GovTrack has consistently ranked her as the second-most liberal Republican senator, behind only Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) — a position to the ideological left of several Democratic senators from swing states. According to CQ Roll Call, she voted with President Obama's position 72.3% of the time in 2013 — one of only two Senate Republicans to exceed 70% on that metric.

Her most defining vote of recent memory remains her 2021 vote to convict Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial — one of seven Republican senators to do so. The Alaska Republican Party censured her for that vote and demanded her resignation. She was reelected in 2022 with 53.7% of the vote under Alaska's ranked-choice system, defeating a Trump-endorsed challenger.

Murkowski's term runs through January 2029. She is not up for reelection in the 2026 midterms.

The Bottom Line

By the raw numbers, Lisa Murkowski is a reliable Republican vote roughly 85% of the time. But in a Senate where the Republican majority is just 53–47, and where several key votes in the 119th Congress have passed by one or two votes, that 15% of independence carries outsized weight. Her opposition to the SAVE America Act — the most recent high-profile break — signals she remains willing to be the deciding factor that blocks a Trump legislative priority, even as she continues to support most of his agenda.

Whether that calculus reflects principle, constituent interest, or political positioning — or some combination of all three — is a judgment readers can draw from the record above.