Murkowski, Wyden plan Alaska visit with energy gavel uncertain

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) wants to get very far away from Capitol Hill to talk strategy with fellow Energy and Natural Resources Committee member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

Murkowski is hoping to host Wyden in Alaska at some point in August, she said.

She will probably chair the committee if Republicans re-take the Senate in the fall elections, while Wyden will likely have the gavel if Democrats hold the chamber, thanks to the upcoming retirement of current Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.).

Murkowski said there’s good reason to spend time together regardless of which party comes out ahead in November.  

“Any time we have an opportunity to just kind of sit down and talk, to dream, to put your ideas out there, knowing that you are not going to be taken apart by your political opponent or the press or whatever, to just kind of strategize,” Murkowski said of the hoped-for trip, which she emphasized has not been finalized.

She said a trip to visit energy-related sites in Alaska would be a chance to address “what would your priorities be, and how would they mesh with a Senate that is a Republican-led Senate or a Democrat-led.”

“I get energized about any opportunities that I have to spend quality time with any of my colleagues, because I think that allows us to understand a little bit better and to really make some things happen,” Murkowski said in a short interview Thursday.

She traveled to Oregon with Wyden last year. Murkowski said there would be plenty to talk about in Alaska, given the committee’s oversight of energy — a big deal in her state — and other matters, such as public lands wildfire management and other topics.

“Alaska is known for some pretty incredible wildfires. [In] Oregon, he’s very keyed in on some of the resources we have as a country to battle our fires, so there’s a lot that we can be talking about, not only from the energy perspective,” Murkowski said.