There are two competing visions for Alaska’s future: One is the dependence on a distant federal government that restricts development and treats Alaska as a “beautiful snow-globe.”
Another vision is one of self-reliance, opportunity, and economic growth driven by unlocking the state’s natural resources and private sector potential.
Sen. Dan Sullivan implored the Alaska Legislature to embrace the self-reliant Alaska model. In his annual address on Thursday, he spoke about economic development, job creation and natural resources, and he addressed the many successes he and the Legislature have accomplished by working together. And he said Alaska is fortunate right now because “We have a president who listens to us.”
Anti-Trump protestors swarmed the halls and lined the corridor leading to the House Chamber, before Sullivan’s planned remarks. They did not create the same hostile welcome to Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who spoke on Tuesday to the joint session. The group held signs opposing President Trump and they created congestion in the access way to the Chamber, but they did not disrupt the official proceedings.
Instead, the joint meeting of the House and Senate gave Sullivan numerous ovations and even a couple of standing ovations, in stark contrast to the tepid response that Sen. Lisa Murkowski received during her remarks earlier this week, when the entire Republican minority sat silent.
The theme of Sullivan’s speech cited the difference between what happened to Alaska during the Carter, Obama, and Biden Administrations, and how Trump is turning that around — and quickly, through executive orders.
“With the stroke of a pen, on his first day in office, President Trump sent Alaska, America, and the world an unmistakable message that unleashing Alaska’s extraordinary resources and jobs in a growing economy will be a top priority of his administration. Whatever you think of President Trump, this document reflects a President who actually listens to us. I encourage you all to read it, understand it, and most importantly, use it for the betterment of the people we represent. This EO could help bring so many of the long-sought ambitions in our state and thousands of good-paying jobs with it,” Sullivan said, holding up a summary of the Trump executive order restoring Alaska energy potential.
He critiqued the difficulty the state has had as an eco-colonial province that the environmental NGOs and their lawmakers and regulators want to keep in the snow-globe category.
“We’re so used to the ‘mother-may-I’ federal permitting slog and the use of delay tactics to kill projects, that we’ve come to accept it. Ten years to permit a hydro project … Twenty years for the Kensington Mine. Forty years for the Cooper Landing Bypass. The Willow Project has been in the works since 1999. It will have spanned six administrations before first oil,” he reminded legislators.
On the Alaska LNG project, Sullivan spend a lot of time. He noted that he has been advocating for the Alaska LNG Project for over 15 years, emphasizing its transformative potential for Alaska and its strategic importance for the US.
Despite skepticism and obstacles, including four years of resistance from the Biden Administration, Sullivan and his team have persistently pushed forward.
Recent progress includes securing federal permits, loan guarantees, and growing interest from foreign governments and stakeholders. Sullivan has actively pitched the project to President Trump and his administration, gaining significant support, as evidenced by its mention in an executive order and during Trump’s meeting with Japan’s Prime Minister. In his State of the Union address, Trump highlighted the project as a top priority, noting its massive scale and international investment potential.
Sullivan credited this momentum to relentless collaboration with Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Trump’s team.
While the gasline project isn’t imminent, Sullivan said, he did seem hopeful it is nearing realization, promising affordable energy, economic growth, jobs, and a manufacturing boom for Alaska. The potential makes it a goal too critical to abandon.
“The Trump Administration, from the president on down, has made Alaska LNG a top priority … and I respectfully ask that all of you do, too,” he said to the Alaska Legislature.
In speaking about the military in Alaska, Sullivan highlighting the incursions from Russia in airspace close to Alaska.
“Alaska, I am happy to report that, after five years of dogged persistence from me and my team — countless hearings, meetings, and NDAA amendments — the NorthCom and IndoPacom commanders have agreed with me that it is
time to re-open the Naval base at Adak,” he said, earning a long ovation from the Legislature.
“And right here in Juneau, we’re finally making history. The Coast Guard Cutter Storis — the first polar icebreaker in a generation—is being retrofitted as we speak, has a fresh coat of Coast Guard colored paint, and should achieve initial operating capability in August 2025. After years of work, the Coast Guard will homeport this icebreaker where the ice is! Imagine that. In Alaska!” Sullivan said.
In his remarks about the fisheries issue, he targeted Russia: “And we continue to keenly focus on leveling the playing field against Russia on unfair seafood trade, where they could export fish into our market, but we couldn’t export into theirs, for over 10 years. We fixed this unfair situation that was devastating our fishermen and then we closed the
Communist China loophole that Russia tried to use to circumvent the U.S. ban on importing their fish into our market.”
“The end result of my team’s years of relentless advocacy on this — and it was relentless — is that more Americans are now buying Alaska “freedom fish” because we’ve shut down ‘communist fish’ from Russia and China! That’s great news for Alaska and our fishermen,” he said, again getting another ovation.
Sullivan also talked about the fentanyl crisis and Biden’s open-border policy.
“Last year I raised an issue that hits close to home for so many Alaskans, and that’s fentanyl. Overdose deaths in our state are up a staggering 45%. It is mostly our young people, our future, being poisoned and dying. That’s unacceptable. And a large part of this was the result of Biden’s open border policies, with fentanyl pouring in from drug Mexican cartels, made with Chinese chemicals. Well, not anymore. Mexican drug cartels have rightly been designated terrorist organizations and illegal border crossings are down 93%,” he said. He has launched a “one pill can kill” campaign to warn Alaskans about how one fentanyl pill has enough poison to kill a person.
Sullivan touched on the importance of the work of the Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency — DOGE.
“Our national debt of over $36 trillion has reached dangerous, unsustainable levels. Last year, we paid out more in interest on this debt — $882 billion — than we did to fund our military! When you look at history, great powers begin to fail when they hit this precarious inflection point,” he said. It is the inflection point that crumbles empires historically.
There is plenty of bipartisan blame to go around for this dangerous debt situation, he acknowledged.
“So I think most in this room understand that we have to root out wasteful spending, more responsibly spend the American people’s hard-earned dollars, and have a federal government that finally lives within its means. Otherwise, we’ll just pass this mess onto our kids and grandkids,” he said.
“That’s what DOGE is doing, and they are making some notable progress. Do I like every decision that they’re making? No. These are difficult decisions. Job losses are always difficult on families and communities, especially in a tight-knit state like ours. They certainly shouldn’t be celebrated. And they need to be done humanely and less randomly. But is the end goal of a smaller, more efficient federal government that lives within its means is necessary?” Sullivan said.
He reminded the room that President Bill Clinton first launched the original DOGE — the National Partnership for Reinventing Government during his first year in office. Its goal was to dramatically shrink government and make it more
efficient, which it did during his presidency, saving $108 billion and balancing the budget by 1998, the last time the US had a budget surplus.
“I’ve spoken directly with DOGE leaders and Trump administration leaders regularly. They have emphasized that, during this process, there will be mistakes made, and they want to work with us to correct them. We have had some successes on getting decisions that have been made or going to be made,” he said, and then asked legislators to reach out to his office with specific instances of federal jobs or leases that, if canceled, would harm the economy of the state.
