Graham
Senators represent individual states. But their power affects all Americans. Senator Lisa Murkowski scored a sweet deal for Alaska but dealt a heavy blow to average Americans by voting yes on Trump’s megabill. Her decision — and her explanation for that decision — reveals a profoundly misguided philosophy of governance that prioritizes perks for home-state constituents over the wellbeing of the nation’s most vulnerable.
Over the weekend, Republican leadership in the Senate rushed to pass Trump’s sweeping domestic bill, hoping to meet the president’s arbitrary deadline of July 4. To do so, Republicans could only afford to lose three votes within their own party.
Senator Rand Paul, a longtime deficit hawk, opposed the bill on the grounds that it would add to the national debt. Senator Thom Tillis blasted the bill’s cuts to Medicaid, vowing to vote no. A handful of other Republican senators posed brief opposition, including Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, who also criticized Medicaid c
uts.
