U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, said she was disturbed to hear Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell say there would be "total coordination" between the White House and the Senate over the upcoming presidential impeachment trial.
In an interview Tuesday with KTUU, Murkowski said she remains undecided on how she would vote when the trial takes place. She was critical of the impeachment process in the House, describing it as rushed.
“For me to prejudge and say there’s nothing there or on the other hand, he should be impeached yesterday, that’s wrong, in my view, that’s wrong," she said.
But she said there should be distance between the Trump administration and the Senate on how the trial is conducted.
“To me it means that we have to take that step back from being hand in glove with the defense, and so I heard what leader McConnell had said, I happened to think that that has further confused the process," she said.
McConnell has denounced the impeachment of Trump. In remarks for a floor speech, he accused Pelosi of being afraid to send “their shoddy work product to the Senate.” Pelosi threw uncertainty into the impeachment process by refusing to say when she would send two impeachment articles to the Senate for a trial.
McConnell also condemned "the most rushed, least thorough, and most unfair impeachment inquiry" in modern history.
He also claimed the "House's conduct risks deeply damaging the institutions of American government."
The House impeached Trump on two charges -- abusing his power and obstructing Congress—stemming from his pressure on Ukraine to announce investigations of his political rival as he withheld U.S. aid.