Sen. Sullivan defends approach to Trump administration during address to Alaska Legislature

JUNEAU — U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan defended his stance on the administration of President Donald Trump in response to questions from Alaska lawmakers after his annual address Wednesday, even as he called on them to unanimously adopt a resolution opposing one of Trump’s policy ideas.

“In terms of the president and his team, my North Star, in terms of my dealing with those guys, is what’s good for Alaska and what’s good for our country,” Sullivan said. “When they do things that I don’t like, there’s times that I will beat them up in public.”

Sullivan made the comment in response to a question from Anchorage Democratic state Sen. Forrest Dunbar, after a speech in which Sullivan, who is up for reelection this year, extolled Trump and declared Alaska was experiencing a “comeback” under his leadership.

“You said ‘yes’ to Trump many times,” Dunbar said. “I’m wondering if you’re willing to say ‘no.’”

“You want to put out a tweet, smashing them on certain issues or criticizing them?” Sullivan asked in response. “Sometimes that works, but sometimes, if you want results, that’s not always the best way to get results.”

Sullivan listed federal funding freezes and worker layoffs as areas where he disagreed with Trump in recent months. He said his office “made huge impacts on all of those issues,” though he has often refrained from speaking publicly about those topics or responding to questions from reporters about them.

“I push back publicly and in private on all kinds of things — with always the North Star for me, how to be effective for all of you, for the people I represent and for my country,” said Sullivan.

Sullivan’s speech surveyed many familiar themes. He decried former President Joe Biden’s past environmental policies, which he said hindered resource development in Alaska; he celebrated Trump’s executive order seeking to expand the state’s resource industries; he promised progress on a long-sought natural gas pipeline; he praised a GOP-backed bill that extended tax cuts first enacted in 2017; he downplayed lawmakers’ concerns over cuts to Medicaid enacted to pay for those tax cuts; he criticized Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, for blocking legislative provisions that would have benefited Alaska; and he lauded a new rural health program that he said would direct more than $1 billion in new federal funding to the state.

Sullivan’s speech focused primarily on areas where he said he agrees with the president. But he called on the Legislature to pass a resolution opposing Trump’s move to charge $100,000 for visas that are used by educators coming to Alaska from other countries, primarily the Philippines, to fill vacant teaching positions in rural districts.

Alaska has increasingly relied on teachers from other countries amid stagnant school funding and other concerns that have made attracting educators to the state from the Lower 48 increasingly difficult. Sullivan said he is working with other members of Alaska’s congressional delegation to seek an exemption to Trump’s visa surcharge.

Around three dozen protesters gathered outside the Capitol ahead of Sullivan’s address, speaking against several of his policy positions. Some lined the hallways as Sullivan entered the Alaska House chamber, holding signs reading, “We the People Do Not Consent.”

“When I entered the U.S. military, 60 years ago, I took an oath to protect and defend the U.S. Constitution,” Juneau resident Paul DeSloover said. “Sen. Sullivan, when he entered the Marines, took the same oath, and he likes to say ‘Semper Fi’ because he’s a Marine. But (it) should be, ‘Semper Timidus,’ because he is a timid coward.”

Erin Jackson-Hill, member of the left-leaning activist group Stand Up Alaska, criticized Sullivan’s support of the SAVE Act, a bill that would require proof of citizenship to vote. Alaska Republican U.S. Rep. Nick Begich also supports the legislation, whereas Alaska Republican U.S. Sen Lisa Murkowski opposes it.

“I call on Sen. Sullivan to show a modicum of the bravery shown by our other senator and stand up and say the SAVE Act is wrong. It will disenfranchise people,” Jackson-Hill said.

Sullivan said in a press availability after the speech that he believes “voting should be easy, and cheating should be hard.” He said he does not believe voter fraud is widespread in Alaska, but that it is elsewhere in the country.

“I think having an ID requirement that makes sure that the people who are voting in our country are Americans is not unreasonable,” Sullivan said. “Even though it’s not a big issue here, it is a big issue in other parts of the country. And I’m a senator for Alaska, but I’m also a senator for America.”

Reviews both nationwide and in Alaska have found that voting by noncitizens is exceedingly rare.

In response to a question from a reporter, Sullivan criticized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Minneapolis. He said he supports “deporting illegals with violent criminal records.”

“ICE needs to refine its techniques and tactics. It was horrendous, regardless of the situation, in my view, that two Americans were killed,” said Sullivan. “That should not have happened. I think there’s practices that they need to learn from. At the same time, I strongly support our law enforcement.”

The Daily News’ Iris Samuels reported from Anchorage and Mari Kanagy reported from Juneau.