WASHINGTON With a couple of phone calls to Alaskas Republican delegation, the Trump administration apparently thought it could bully Sen. Lisa Murkowski into supporting her partys attempt to repeal Obamacare .

The approach was both rookie and reckless, according to former Interior officials. In the end, the Alaska senator stood her ground , joining two other Republican senators in defeating a skinny repeal of the Affordable Care Act early Friday morning.

The issue began when Murkowski voted Tuesday against a measure to begin debate on a health care bill. President Donald Trump used Twitter the next day to voice his dissatisfaction, saying Murkowski really let the Republicans , and our country, down.

On Wednesday night, the Alaska Dispatch News first reported that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke had phoned Murkowski and fellow Alaskan Sen. Dan Sullivan (R) following Tuesdays vote. Zinke delivered a troubling message, indicating that Murkowskis defection could jeopardize future Alaska projects, in particular those involving energy extraction, Sullivan told the paper.

In other words, Zinke wanted Murkowski to fall in line or else.

But what Zinke and Trump apparently failed to consider before issuing the apparent threat is that government is a two-way street and Murkowski has a great deal of influence. As chairwoman of both the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, Murkowski has oversight over the Interior department and its funding. That puts her in a unique position to either advance or obstruct the administrations energy priorities.

Alaska is among the nations largest producers of oil and gas, and will likely prove key to the administrations push for energy dominance. If the administration were to follow through on its warning, it would likely involve reversing course on opening additional areas of the state to energy development a move at odds with its own policies.