ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) -U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, recently spoke with Alaska’s News Source about President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks, tariffs and combating the fentanyl crisis in Alaska.

A part of his “One Pill Can Kill-Alaska” campaign launched in May to compile resources for Alaskans to, in part, know where fentanyl is coming from, the dangers of the drug and the resources that are available for treatment and prevention; the Senator is now launching a new campaign.

The fentanyl awareness competition for Alaska high school students is asking high schoolers across the state to put together media campaigns to educate Alaska’s youth on the dangers of the drug.

Sen. Sullivan stated that while all campaigns will be highlighted on his website, the winning campaign will collaborate with his communications team to create a statewide “One Pill Can Kill – Alaska” public service announcement.

“But the youth, they’re smart, they’re very smart, and they’re like, we think we can help. And we think the messaging, if it’s more peer to peer in a lot of ways, can be more impactful, more effective, and our youth will listen more,” Sullivan said.

Sandy Snodgrass, the director of the AK Fentanyl Response Project, tragically lost her son to a fentanyl overdose in 2021. She believes that young people are likelier to listen to their peers than their parents. Snodgrass hopes that through the competition and campaign, youth will start to understand just how lethal fentanyl can be.

“I don’t think they do know how lethal it is. I think that they may think that they might get sick or they might pass out or something like that, but I don’t think that young people, or people in general, still understand what a small amount of fentanyl will actually kill you. Ten grains of salt, table salt, is enough fentanyl to kill a person,” Snodgrass said.

During his interview with Alaska’s News Source, Sullivan also talked about President-elect Trump, who he is a supporter of.

Regarding President-Elect Trump’s cabinet picks, which have attracted media attention, Sullivan stated that Trump is entitled to the cabinet he desires.

One of those controversial picks is Pete Hegseth, whom President-elect Trump has chosen as his Secretary of Defense.

Since the announcement, Hegseth has been marred by sexual assault allegations dating back to 2017.

As Alaska’s Attorney General and a U.S. Senator, Sullivan has championed legislation and campaigns aimed at combating sexual assault and domestic violence.

When he was attorney general in 2010, a statewide campaign called “Alaska Men Choose Respect” encouraged men to become actively involved in preventing violence.

Additionally, in 2019, as a senator, he introduced the “Choose Respect Act.” This bipartisan legislation focused on raising awareness and changing the culture surrounding sexual assault and domestic violence through a national advertising campaign.

On Tuesday, Sullivan said he already talked to Hegseth and took the allegation against him seriously, saying he would do his due diligence.

“He’s going to have to address them. I recently read this report. I’m not going to get into it. I really don’t want to try this in the media. But you know, it’s a serious issue,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan was also asked about the announcement that President-elect Trump wants to impose a massive hike in tariffs on goods coming from China, Mexico, and Canada to combat illegal drugs and immigration.

On his social media site Truth Social, Trump said, ”On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders. This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!”

Speaking to the 10% tariff he wants to impose on goods coming into China, Trump said on Truth Social, “I have had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular Fentanyl, being sent into the United States-But to no avail.”

On Tuesday, Sullivan said in support of President-elect Trump that he was very transparent during his campaign about using tariffs to gain leverage over other countries on big issues.

“I will tell you, there’s not a bigger issue, in my view, than the fact that China and Mexico are flooding our country with fentanyl,” Sullivan said. “So hitting the Chinese hard with tariffs and saying, ‘Hey, joke’s over, we’re going to come at you really hard until you stop poisoning our citizens’ – I’m actually totally okay with that, and President Trump made that clear.”

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