Lisa Murkowski (R - AK) Definitely No
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October 5: I believe Brett Kavanaugh’s a good man. It just may be that in my view he’s not the right man for the court at this time. So I have taken my vote here this morning, I’m going to go back to my office and write a floor statement that is more fulsome and have the opportunity to have that. (The New York Times)
October 4: Murkowski told me she concurs with Susan Collins’ view that Kavanaugh probably wouldn’t overturn Roe. (Twitter)
September 28: After a full day of testimony, I continued to express concerns to my colleagues about how this process has been handled by both sides of the aisle. In order to fully and fairly complete our due diligence, allowing the FBI up to one week to supplement its background investigation is appropriate. It is important to have a fair process for the sake of both Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford, as well as the integrity of both the judicial branch and the Senate confirmation process. (Anchorage Daily News)
September 25: Murkowski told me her response to CNN was "perhaps somewhat flip" and she's not calling for the FBI to investigate. She says the committee is investigating and she wishes Sen. Grassley released more info about that. (Twitter)
September 25: I just asked Sen. Lisa Murkowski, key GOP swing vote, if there should be a full FBI investigation into allegations from Kavanaugh’s past. “It would sure clear up all the questions, wouldn’t it?” she said (Twitter)
September 24: “We are now in a place where it’s not about whether or not Judge Kavanaugh is qualified,” Ms. Murkowski said in an extended interview on Monday night in the Capitol. “It is about whether or not a woman who has been a victim at some point in her life is to be believed.”...In the interview, Ms. Murkowski emphasized how invested she was in assessing Dr. Blasey’s story. Her view that an “arbitrary timeline” should not scuttle a potential hearing helped nudge Republicans toward reaching an agreement with the accuser’s lawyers last weekend. She canceled a meeting of the Senate committee she leads on Thursday to ensure her schedule was clear. And although she is not on the Senate Judiciary Committee, she will be watching. “All you can try to do is be as fair as possible to ensure that at the end of the day justice is delivered,” Ms. Murkowski said...In the interview, Ms. Murkowski was not so dismissive of the accusations. “We are at just a difficult place because the conversation is not rational on either side,” she said. She added: “Just look at some of the hateful things that are being said out there. How do you dial that back?” “We need to be able to listen,” she said, pledging to take Dr. Blasey seriously. “We have to listen to what she will say on the record, under oath, and what Judge Kavanaugh will say on the record, under oath.”...Ms. Murkowski said on Monday that Judge Kavanaugh had laid out for her a powerful case about the importance of precedent and the “reliance of interest” it creates. “How he articulated how it had been reinforced in so many different steps, I certainly have greater confidence with the way that he portrayed to me how he views Roe,” she said. (The New York Times)
September 24: "As with any allegation out there, it is our responsibility to look into it and treat allegations with the serious consideration they deserve,” Murkowski said. (Note: We have not yet confirmed the exact date of these comments, but they appear to have taken place on or around 9/24/2018.) (Politico)
September 21: Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski told CNN on Friday she plans to wait until after Judge Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, the woman accusing President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee of sexual assault, testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee before deciding whether to back Kavanaugh's nomination. "What I have to do next week, assuming that the hearing moves forward, which I am truly hoping it does, that is the end, hopefully, of this vetting process that I have been engaged in," she said here Friday. "That's when I will make my determination in regards to Judge Kavanaugh."...The Alaskan senator, who as a more moderate Republican is seen as a key swing vote, also said Trump's tweet Friday morning claiming that Ford should have reported her allegation immediately after the alleged incident took place was not "helpful." "I think that where we are right now with the Senate and (the) Judiciary Committee particularly, going through its process, a process that hopefully will allow for an airing of the allegations Dr. Ford has submitted in writing ... but equally important is a fair opportunity for Judge Kavanaugh to respond," she said. "That's what we should be focusing on."...Murkowski said she believes the issue of the allegations against Kavanaugh is now in the Senate Judiciary Committee's hands rather than those of the FBI. "I think it's important to realize, as has been said before, when a nominee is advanced there is an FBI review background investigation that comes. In fact, with Judge Kavanaugh, because he has been a nominee on multiple occasions now, he's actually had six different FBI reviews, if you will," she said. "The FBI basically doesn't make a determination on this as matter. ... So I think right now where we are is you have a committee process that needs to advance, again to allow this story to be told, and responded to appropriately." (CNN)
September 16: Later Sunday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a moderate who had yet to say how she will vote, echoed the notion that the vote might need to be delayed. “If there is real substance to this, it demands a response,” she told CNN. (Politico)
August 23: This afternoon Judge Kavanaugh and I met for the first time. We discussed a wide range of issues, many suggested by Alaskans who have been in touch with me about the nomination. From privacy to precedent, executive power, vouchers, Indian law, and healthcare, including women’s reproductive rights and protections for pre-existing conditions –we had a substantive conversation. It also was important that I seek Judge Kavanaugh’s understanding of the unique legal issues that arise in Alaska. I also appreciated the opportunity to gain more insight into his judicial philosophy. What I am seeking is a Supreme Court Justice with the character, the intelligence, and the balance to impartially apply the law to the facts of the case. Today’s meeting represents an important step in my vetting process. That process, however, has not concluded. I look forward to learning more about Judge Kavanaugh’s views during his appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September. (senate.gov)
August 8: She said the “big topic” at this time is the review of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. She said it will take some time before she weighs in. “The reality is nothing is going to happen in August because the documentation from this nominee is so voluminous the committee is not going to be able to schedule hearings until they get the documents they’ve requested,” she said. The Republicans on the committee have requested some 900,000 pages of material from Kavanaugh’s 12 years on the bench and his years in the George W. Bush administration. “I’m going to be visiting Kavanaugh some time in mid-August,” Murkowski said. “I’ve actually said I want to do a little studying of this person before I sit down with him. I want to be able to ask informed questions to him. I want to do my due-diligence. I’ll tell you, I’ve gotten heat from both sides on this. Some people are like, ‘you need to say no yesterday.’ ... Others are saying, ‘you need to support Trump’s person yesterday.’ So as they say, the proverbial, damned if you do, damned if you don’t. I will be guilty of taking my time to do my homework on this. I solicit your opinions on this, I respect them and I will take them with me as I’m collecting these from around the state.” But, she said: “There are many more weeks to go before you’ll hear me weigh in one way or another on Judge Kavanaugh.” (Daily Sitka Sentinel)
July 30: “And know that I, too, do not want to turn back the clock when it comes to women’s reproductive rights,” Murkowski said. “I do not want to see Roe v. Wade overturned.”...Murkowski said she’s reading up on Brett Kavanaugh to prepare for her meeting with him, so she can form her own opinion. Her impressions so far? Murkowski said he’s a learned man and a good writer. (Alaska Public Media)
July 19: But I know that there is a great deal of attention that has been trained on me because primarily of the issue of Roe v. Wade and what will happen when Kennedy, who was viewed as that swing member on the Supreme Court, when he leaves and Judge Kavanaugh were to replace him, what then happens to the balance. And it's not just the balance on women's reproductive issues. There's so many other issues that are certainly a concern for Alaska's constituents. We're a state that believes very, very strongly in ensuring that we're respecting Second Amendment rights, for instance. But trying to identify or distill out and say that there is one issue that for me will guide my determination on this nomination or any future nomination for the United States Supreme Court, that's not how I operate. I have been looking at Judge Kavanaugh and his record holistically, just as I did with every other justice that I've had an opprotunity to weigh in on, whether it was Justice Kagan, or Sotomayor, or Gorsuch, or Judge Roberts. And so I am perhaps taking more time than some would like me to. Some on the right would say, 'You need to be deciding right now that you're gonna be supporting him.' And those on the left would say, 'You need to decide right now that he's just not acceptable.' I don't operate that way. I will take my time. I will be thoughtful. (C-SPAN)
July 10: I've been asked already this morning by several different reporters, 'What do you think? What do you think?' And I am certainly going to defer on that until I have had an opportunity to review, and this is an individual that has a pretty extensive record out there. He's been on the bench since 2006. He's been in the administration before that. So there is a lot to go through. (The Anchorage Daily News)
July 10: I don't have an impression on Judge Kavanaugh as to where he may fall on the issue of abortion as well as the many other issues that I will weigh as we move forward with this process," Murkowski said. "So again, that's why I think all of us need to be doing our due diligence. I find it somewhat troubling that even before the President named Judge Kavanaugh that there were those who were roundly condemning the nominee without knowing who the nominee is," Murkowski said. "I think that there is a process -- that process needs to be fair, it needs to be open. We all, every member of the United States Senate has an equal obligation to thoroughly vet this nominee. And we will come down on one side or the other but in due deference to the nominee and in due deference to the president's prerogative to name a nominee. We have an obligation to thoroughly work through this advice and consent process. (CNN)
July 9: This evening the President nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. While I have not met Judge Kavanaugh, I look forward to sitting down for a personal meeting with him. I intend to review Judge Kavanaugh’s decisions on the bench and writings off the bench, and pay careful attention to his responses to questions posed by my colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee. The American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Judiciary will also review Judge Kavanaugh’s qualifications prior to these hearings and issue a rating. I intend to carefully consider that rating, the information obtained through personal meetings, my own review of Judge Kavanaugh’s qualifications and record, and the views of Alaskans in determining whether or not to support him. My standard for reviewing Supreme Court nominees remains rigorous and exacting. (senate.gov)