In a stunning moment of political whiplash, Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski is facing backlash after casting the deciding vote to pass President Donald Trump’s sweeping $3 trillion “One Big Beautiful Bill” — only to immediately slam the legislation in interviews as deeply flawed and unfinished.
The bill, which narrowly passed the Senate in a 51-50 vote on Tuesday with Vice President JD Vance breaking the tie, includes massive cuts to social safety net programs, especially Medicaid and SNAP. Murkowski, long seen as one of the Senate’s few remaining moderates, had publicly expressed concerns about those very provisions.
But when the moment came, she voted yes.
“Do I like this bill? No,” Murkowski told NBC News, “but I tried to take care of Alaska’s interests.”
And that, critics say, is exactly the problem.
Murkowski reportedly secured specific carve-outs for her state—temporary exemptions from food stamp cuts and a waiver for Alaska’s tribal communities from new work requirements. But political analysts argue that she gave up national leverage for narrow local gains, helping push through a deeply unpopular bill with wide-reaching consequences for millions of Americans.
In a statement after the vote, Murkowski went even further, describing the process as “awful” and the bill as incomplete.
“My hope is that the House is going to look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet,” she said.
But by that point, it may have been too late.
According to White House officials, the Senate version is final. The House is expected to vote on it before the July 4th recess. Speaker Mike Johnson has vowed to “deliver without delay,” despite rumblings of discontent among both moderate and far-right Republicans.
Murkowski’s reversal was quickly condemned across the political spectrum.
“She’s trying to have it both ways,” said MSNBC’s Steve Benen. “She wants to criticize the bill while enabling its passage. But if she’d voted no, it wouldn’t have killed the bill — it would have reopened negotiations. She gave away her bargaining power and now she’s hoping the House will clean up her mess.”
Progressive Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) confirmed that around 20 Republicans currently oppose the House version, though he added, “Republicans always fold. They’ll cave under pressure like they always do.”
Among the loudest critics of Murkowski’s vote is none other than Elon Musk.
Musk, who has grown increasingly critical of Trump’s economic agenda in recent weeks, lashed out after the vote, accusing Trump of “undermining fiscal sanity” and pledging to support primary challengers against any Republican who backed the bill.
The feud between Musk and Trump has intensified amid reports that Trump privately discussed deporting Musk — who was born in South Africa — as a political revenge tactic. Musk responded with a cryptic but ominous warning: “I don’t threaten. I build.”
As the fallout continues, Murkowski finds herself increasingly isolated. Conservatives accuse her of betrayal for backing a bill they believe doesn’t go far enough, while moderates say she handed Trump a blank check.
And the public? Furious.
Online commenters blasted Murkowski as “spineless,” a “sellout,” and “proof that Alaska comes before America.” Even former allies appeared baffled.
“It’s not just that she voted for a bad bill,” one former staffer said. “It’s that she did it knowing it was bad, and then tried to shift the responsibility elsewhere. That’s not leadership — it’s damage control.”
With the House poised to finalize the bill within days, one thing is clear: Lisa Murkowski’s legacy may now be defined not by her principles — but by the moment she abandoned them.
