Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski cast a pivotal vote in the Senate's passage of the president's sweeping tax cuts and spending reductions bill on Tuesday

Around 12 hours later, after she had convinced Senate leaders to change the bill to benefit her state and voted for the legislation, ensuring its passage, Murkowski said the last day had been “probably the most difficult and agonizing legislative 24-hour period that I have encountered.

The Republican senator tried to explain why she advanced a far-right megabill despite serious reservations, but her reasoning doesn’t make sense.