Since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, Alaska has seen a steady inflow of top-level administration officials, underscoring the state’s central role in the White House’s energy, security, and economic agenda. Much of it can be credited to US Sen. Dan Sullivan, who won commitments from the cabinet members when they were still nominees.
On his first day in office, Trump signed executive orders to lift what he called the “onerous lockdowns” of the Biden Administration, opening the door for expanded energy development, including oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A). From Day One, he singled out Alaska for special emphasis.
In early June, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin traveled north for a multi-day tour. They joined a high-level roundtable with energy stakeholders in Anchorage, toured the Trans-Alaska Pipeline at Prudhoe Bay, visited Utqiagvik (Barrow), and spoke at Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s sustainable energy conference.
Burgum pushed for faster permitting and new exploration on federal lands. Wright focused on boosting oil production and reviving the long-stalled Alaska LNG project. Zeldin championed regulatory rollbacks to speed North Slope development.
In March, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited Kodiak to brush up on security challenges on the Alaska front.
In April, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll traveled to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) and Fort Greely, participating in a simulated casualty recovery exercise with 11th Airborne Division soldiers at the Black Rapids Training Site.
In May, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan “Raisin’” Cain visited Alaska at the invitation of Sen. Dan Sullivan, who routinely presses nominees to commit to visiting the 49th state. Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink visited JBER in July.
August brought multiple high-profile arrivals: Acting Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday attended the commissioning of the USS Coast Guard icebreaker Storis in Juneau and the Coast Guard Cutter Cunningham in Kodiak; Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Troy Edgar joined the Storis commissioning in Juneau.
Last week, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was in Alaska for meetings on tribal sovereignty, Medicaid rules, and vaccine policy.
This week, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy arrived for meetings with state and local leaders. Turner traveled to Bethel to discuss affordable housing initiatives in rural and Native communities, while Duffy toured the Don Young Port of Alaska and spotlighted infrastructure projects, including port upgrades and highway improvements tied to energy exports.
Totaling them up, the list of presidential cabinet members is historic in nature, never before seen in Alaska in such a compressed timeframe.
All of these visits set the stage for Trump’s own arrival on Aug. 15, when he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin at JBER for a summit on Ukraine peace talks — the highest-profile political meeting in Alaska in decades.
The administration’s sustained presence makes one thing clear: Under Trump, Alaska is no longer a fuel-stop state for cabinet members traveling abroad, but a front-line player in the push for American energy dominance and national security.
Super, did they bring stretchers to clean up the street tourists?
Peace through strength!
Time to take the paper-doll leftists and put them into a shoebox and throw them back into the closet where they belong.
We have had a taste of weakness in the chairs of leadership. So scared of the cold and flu they would lock down the healthy to pander to the weak. Time for the strong to take us forward!
So good to see Alaska opened for business again. The attack by Biden and handlers on day one is unforgivable. Now we need to stop the frivolous lawsuits from out of state NGOs blocking our fishing industry. They’re well funded and headed by retired attorneys with lots of time on their hands.
Noem is a turd with a fancy watch.
And Duffy…sorry, but all I think about when I see him is Road Rules.
You got that right! And dog killer.
I must say, it’s quite a difference from the Biden oppressing administration. He definitely treated us like we were his gas station all while making it more difficult for us to have that gas.