Sen. Lisa Murkowski says we can preserve democracy. ‘But it takes work’ : NPR

NPR's Juana Summers talks with Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, about her new memoir that talks about the place she occupies in her party.

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

The last 24 hours have brought varied reactions to the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Democrats and even some Republicans have condemned the attack as unconstitutional. They've criticized President Trump for making the move without congressional authorization. One Republican senator supporting the case for the targeted strikes is Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. She has a reputation for bucking her party and President Trump on other issues. She's out with a new memoir that talks about the place she occupies in her party. Our cohost Juana Summers spoke with Murkowski this morning just before Iran's attack on a key U.S. base in Qatar, and Murkowski said the next 48 to 72 hours will be crucial.

JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:

Senator Lisa Murkowski, welcome.

LISA MURKOWSKI: Thank you. Good to be with you.

SUMMERS: I just want to start by asking you for your reaction to the strikes.

MURKOWSKI: Well, I think President Trump made very clear that his desire was to negotiate with Iran, to move Iran from the capability of nuclear weapons. This is something that not is just a desire of President Trump. No one in the world wants Iran to have nuclear weapons with, perhaps, the exception of Iran. And so the effort to move towards some form of negotiated settlement, I think, was important.

I think that the administration, that President Trump realized, at some point, that Iran wasn't taking this seriously. And so he moved towards a very decisive action, very precise targets towards these three sites to take out Iran's nuclear capability. I think it remains to be seen the extent to which everything was destroyed. But with everything as fresh as it is from this weekend's news, I think we're all more than a little bit anxious about, all right, oh, what comes next?

SUMMERS: You have a background in law, as you write about in your memoir, and some of your colleagues on Capitol Hill have challenged the constitutionality of these strikes, making the case that they were carried out without congressional authorization for Congress. What do you say to them?

MURKOWSKI: So the War Powers Act is specific in terms of the involvement of Congress if the president moves towards attacks. But it gives him, as commander in chief, the authority to implement targeted strikes in the event of emergency or event of threat. Our role in Congress under the War Powers Act is then, within a limited time period – excuse me, backtrack just a second here – that there would be notification to the Congress within 48 hours after any such attack. And then the Congress has a period of time – 60 days – to weigh in. I think it is clear in the Constitution that it is the Congress that has the authority to declare a war. It is the president, it is the commander in chief, who then moves to implement it.

We're going to have a debate on the floor of the Senate this week. Senator Tim Kaine has introduced a War Powers Resolution. Before we move on that, we're going to have an opportunity for an all-members briefing, a classified briefing to kind of detail more of the decision-making process. And I think that will be instructive as we move forward in this next process as to a potential vote on the War Powers Act.

SUMMERS: Vice President JD Vance says that this does not signify that the U.S. is at war with Iran or its citizens, only war against its nuclear program. But how concerned are you that this move could put American citizens in danger either in the region or perhaps even here at home?

MURKOWSKI: Well, I think we're all concerned, right? This is about not only security for Americans, it is security for our friends in Israel, our friends and allies, as well. And so when you have a directed, targeted attack like you have that hopefully has taken out the nuclear capabilities of a country that we have been pushing to say stop for all these years, you do have to worry about retaliation. What will this look like? How will it impact us and the threat that is out there? And I think it's been said by several already in the past many hours that these next 48, 72-hour period as we see how Iran will respond will be very, very telling.

Should we be concerned? Yes, but I think it is important to put it in context. Iran has been threatening with their continued efforts towards their own nuclear capabilities for far too long. That, in and of itself, is that threat that should cause all of us to worry. But it really is – the president has said, it really is in Iran's hands as to what comes next. The path to negotiations is still very, very open.

SHAPIRO: And you can hear more of Juana's conversation with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski about her new memoir, “Far From Home,” tomorrow on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.

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