Sen. Lisa Murkowski is once again breaking ranks with her own party, this time over the federal response to a deadly ICE shooting that has sparked outrage across Minnesota and beyond.
The 68 year old Alaska Republican is openly criticizing how the Trump administration is handling the investigation into the fatal shooting of 37 year old Renee Nicole Good, a Minnesota mother of three who was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. Murkowski has made clear she is not comfortable with the decision to sideline state authorities, especially at a time when public trust is already fragile.
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She told The Hill that cutting state law enforcement out of the process is “confusing” and unnecessary given the national tension surrounding immigration enforcement. That concern carried over to her public comments online as well.
On Thursday, Murkowski posted on X calling for a “thorough and objective investigation into how and why this happened,” saying that outcome would require “full cooperation from the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, along with the local authorities.” Her message directly challenged Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose department has asserted control over the probenprobe.
The shooting took place Wednesday and has quickly become a flashpoint. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, 61, said during a press conference Thursday that federal agencies had pulled back from a cooperation agreement with the state, leaving Minnesota investigators effectively locked out.
“It feels now that Minnesota has been taken out of the investigation,” Walz said, adding that this makes it “very difficult that we will get a fair outcome.”
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Noem pushed back on that version of events, telling reporters that local law enforcement “have not been cut out,” but said they do not have jurisdiction over a federal investigation. Murkowski said that explanation did not sit right with her. Speaking again to The Hill, she said the exclusion of state authorities “just seems unusual.”
Murkowski warned that limiting transparency only deepens mistrust in a country already divided over ICE enforcement. She added that officers must have “the necessary training and resources to safely and with empathy and respect for human life carry out these activities.” Her comments come as ICE academy training has reportedly been reduced to 47 days, about half of the previous requirement.
Her clash with party leadership did not stop there. Just hours earlier, Murkowski was one of five Republicans who voted with Democrats to advance a resolution aimed at blocking President Donald Trump from deploying US forces in Venezuela without congressional approval. The measure passed 52 to 47, and Trump responded with fury.
On Truth Social, he wrote, “Republicans should be ashamed of the Senators that just voted with Democrats in attempting to take away our Powers to fight and defend the United States of America,” adding they should “never be elected to office again.”
Despite the backlash, Murkowski’s stance drew praise from across the aisle. Democratic Sen. Tina Smith, 67, thanked her publicly on X, writing that “Minnesota authorities have to be involved in the investigation.”