Several dozen demonstrators arrived early to the Alaska State Capitol on Thursday ahead of U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan’s annual address to the Legislature, to express concerns and display protest signs for the senator as he walked into the House chamber.
People held signs written on the permitted size paper of 11 by 17 inches, some reading “You work for us not Trump!”, “Treat Canada like our friend, not our enemy!” and “No Kings!”
“I came today to ensure that Sen. Sullivan understood that not everyone is approving of some of the actions that’s been taken during this administration, the Trump administration,” said Deborah Craig, an Alaska resident of 42 years. In particular she said she’s concerned with the actions of DOGE, or the “Department of Efficiency,” violating the Constitution and due process.
“Some of the actions that are being taken seem so helter-skelter. They seem unorganized. They don’t seem to be targeting areas of inefficiency,” Craig said. “They’re just targeting entire organizations or agencies, which doesn’t make any sense. I think we can all agree that there are inefficiencies in government and that there are ways to broach those kinds of issues.”
“The programs that are being affected primarily are those that impact women, children, people with disabilities and veterans who have served our country, and it seems like that’s an inappropriate way to change some of the parameters of these agencies,” she said.
Juneau resident Robert Marshall said he showed up to express his concern for Ukraine, “to voice my hope that we will not give up on Ukraine and our European allies, who are trying to prevent the takeover of a sovereign democracy.”
Marshall held a sign reading, “Support Ukraine and our EU allies, not Putin’s war goals.” He said he wants to see Sullivan, who has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine, speak out against President Donald Trump’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “He has been very quiet,” Marshall said. “We should make it clear that we’re not going to stand by and let Ukraine fall to a dictator. Or our enemies who are in it for their resources, and stuff, the spoils of war. We shouldn’t be in it for the spoils of war either. We should be in it for democracy, and should stand up for that.”
The packed hallway of demonstrators fell quiet as Sullivan was announced by Alaska Senate President Gary Stevens. He walked past them, glancing at signs on either side, and directly into the House chamber without stopping.
As the speech to the Legislature got underway, the crowd dispersed. As they departed, Pat Race and Marian Call shared that they attended the demonstration at the invitation of a friend for her birthday.
“There’s a lot of big, disturbing changes happening on the national level, and I’ve had a long running disappointment with Sen. Sullivan, so I felt like it was important to come here and to voice that discontent,” said Race, a Juneau artist and business owner.
He also pointed to Sullivan’s history of prosecuting charges related to sexual assault, while voting to confirm nominees, like Pete Hegseth, who have faced allegations of sexual assault and misconduct.
“Actually, I’m very surprised, I think he’s taken a bad heel turn. When he was attorney general for the state of Alaska, and in his first year as a senator, he pursued Bill Allen over his sexual assault charges,” Race said, referring to an oil executive at the center of a 2007 state corruption scandal. “He was the ‘choose respect’ guy, and now it seems like he’s enabling a lot of people that perpetuate violence against women.”
Race said the federal cuts will also hurt Alaska communities and industries like the staff cuts at the Mendenhall Glacier. “It’s tied to tourism, it’s tied to business. It’s tied to all kinds of things that are important to this community. And without any rhyme or reason, all that staff was eliminated. I think there’s maybe one employee left out there,” he said. “And so they’re not making good decisions, and Congress is not holding them accountable. And so Dan Sullivan is not doing his job, and he’s enabling a lot of bad behavior.”
Marian Call held a sign reading “No Kings! Fight the executive takeover.” “It’s really telling that here we are, on the eve of our country’s 250th anniversary, that we are dealing with really the most unprecedented executive overreach we’ve ever seen,” she said. “And Congress is not putting up a fight. To me, it’s not a problem when one branch of government tries to go too far. It’s a problem when the other two stand down and let them, and this is clearly an executive who does not feel beholden to the judiciary, who does not feel beholden to Congress.”
Call said she wants Sullivan and others to stand up to Trump.
“I feel it’s a patriotic and very American sentiment to remember that we do not have a king. We have never wanted a king, and anyone behaving like a king is not welcome here,” she said.
Call said she’s also concerned about the dismantling of the Department of Education, after Trump signed an executive order to begin the process on Thursday, and cuts to federal student aid, student opportunities, and oversight for discriminatory practices. “You must equally support all students, and that is what the Department of Education is for. So this concerns me greatly,” she said.
Call and others at the demonstration criticized Sen. Sullivan for not hosting public town halls to hear constituents’ concerns. “He is having expensive fundraiser dinners, which cost $100 a plate to attend. That is out of my price range,” she said. “It clarifies to me that he does not want to hear from people who do not have that kind of money to lay down, and to me that’s antidemocratic.”
An “empty chair” town hall was held in Fairbanks on Monday for Sullivan, where about 225 people attended to voice their concerns. A similar event was held at the Loussac Library in Anchorage on Thursday for Sullivan and U.S. Rep. Nick Begich, R-Alaska. Another event is planned for Thursday, at the Mendenhall Public Library in Juneau, as Sullivan declined to meet with constituents during his time in the city, according to a flyer for the event.
In his annual address to the Legislature, Sullivan praised Trump and his new administration, and downplayed concerns around federal budget cuts and mass firings.
Following the address, Sullivan took questions from reporters at a news conference and dismissed the criticisms of not hosting public town halls and listening to constituents’ concerns as “completely inaccurate.”
“My No. 1 priority has always been constructive and meaningful engagement with my constituents,” he said, repeating that he meets with constituents in Washington, D.C., and in Alaska in urban and rural communities. “So there’s a little bit of arrogance saying if you’re not doing a town hall in Anchorage, it’s not a town hall for Alaska. That’s not true.”
“And by the way, you want to talk about a town hall?” he added, before referring to the address. “That was the ultimate town hall. There were 60 elected officials who could ask me any question they wanted, on any topic they wanted, and they represent the people.”
Sullivan said he can’t attend events with short notice. “An invite to a town hall with 96-hour notice — it’s just not realistic,” he said. “And if there’s constructive engagement, I’m all for it. If it’s all about screaming and yelling and viral moments that they want to send out to their colleagues? You know, it’s not necessarily the most constructive way to do what I just did in there: an hour and a half with Alaska elected officials.”
Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alaska Beacon maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Andrew Kitchenman for questions: info@alaskabeacon.com.
