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

Just after midnight, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski was pacing in a Senate hallway, alone and looking concerned. It had suddenly become clear to all her Republican colleagues that her vote would be their best chance of passing President Donald Trump’s sweeping bill of tax and spending cuts.

Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski stared down a reporter in a tense exchange that quickly went viral on social media, after she had voted in favor of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and domestic policy bill on July 1.