A Republican senator broke with her party Thursday to describe a former Pentagon chief’s searing rebuke of Donald Trump as “necessary and overdue,” and revealed she was struggling with whether to support the US president’s re-election. Lisa Murkowski’s comments marked a major break with Trump within the Republican camp, which has largely held together through various crises including his impeachment process and the president’s current threat to use military force against protesters. Murkowski was referring to the extraordinary statement Wednesday by Trump’s former defense secretary Jim Mattis who accused the president of trying to “divide” Americans and failing to provide “mature leadership” as the country reels from days of protests.
