Sullivan was met with protests over his refusal to hold town halls and his agenda that is slashing funding and spiking the cost of health care and groceries.
Alaska Current: “For a senator who has famously dodged critical audiences and tough questions […] cutting legislators short is just more of the same, but it’s also getting harder and harder for him to brush off the bad press”
Dan Sullivan was met with fierce criticism and protests from Alaskans during his visit to the Alaska State Legislature yesterday, with Alaskans calling him out for supporting devastating federal cuts that are hurting our state, refusing to hold town halls, and not having the spine to fight for “Alaskans and Alaskan values.”
Sullivan also refused to fully address questions from state legislators, “set[ting] a strict limit on questions for this year’s address […] with one question from each caucus.” Sullivan is facing historic lows in his approval ratings with Alaskans, ranking the third-least popular U.S. senator in the country.
Read more:
Juneau Independent: ‘The address that we deserve’: Juneau residents protest Sullivan before his speech to Alaska Legislature
By Jasz Garrett
February 18, 2026
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, gave his annual address to the Alaska Legislature on Wednesday morning. But before he spoke, dozens of protesters gathered outside the Alaska State Capitol in the bitter cold to listen to Anjuli Grantham read the “address I want to hear.”
“When I entered the U.S. military 60 years ago, I took an oath to protect and defend the U.S. Constitution,” [Paul DeSloover] said. “Senator Sullivan, when he entered the Marines, took the same oath. He likes to say ‘semper fi,’ because he’s a Marine. But his should be ‘semper timidness,’ because he is a timid coward. He has displayed it over and over and over again.”
DeSloover said the protest attendees must demand that “he no longer be a coward, but do the right thing for America.”
[…] other attendees criticized the SAVE Act, legislation that is aimed at ensuring that only U.S. citizens are registered to vote in federal elections.
“He’s got to know that people in the Bush and people in rural communities, even like Haines and Skagway, to get copies of your birth certificate isn’t easy,” said Kimberly Metcalfe Helmar, an attendee at the protest.
Other protesters spoke about the need for affordable health care, expressing anxiety for the future of Medicaid.
When the senator was guided to the House chambers, he was booed, shamed and called a coward by protesters. He responded, “Good morning, everybody,” before the doors closed behind him and he delivered his speech to the Legislature.
Alaska Current: After facing ‘unnecessary grilling,’ Sullivan returns to Legislature with limit on questions
By Matt Acuña Buxton
February 18, 2026
Last year’s question-and-answer session between legislators and Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, following his annual address to the Legislature, featured such brutal questions — like Would he commit to protecting Medicaid? (No), Would he stand up to Trump’s softball handling of Russia? (Obama’s worse), What was he doing about the indiscriminate cuts made by federal DOGE goons thousands of miles away from Alaska? (Here’s a form) — that House Minority Republicans went out of their way to pen an apology letter to the junior senator.
“The tone and manner of certain inquiries — preceded by what can only be described as unnecessary grilling and regrettable rhetoric — fell far short of the respect and decorum you deserve as a United States Senator who graciously accepted our invitation to speak,” read the painfully obsequious letter signed without apparent shame or irony by all 19 Republicans. “To say we were merely disappointed would understate the depth of our dismay.”
Well, those House Republicans won’t have to shield their eyes and ears for as long this year because Sullivan has reportedly set a strict limit on questions for this year’s address, which is set to happen at 11 a.m., with one question from each caucus.
For a senator who has famously dodged critical audiences and tough questions about his unabashed support for everything Trump, cutting legislators short is just more of the same, but it’s also getting harder and harder for him to brush off the bad press.
Heading into what’s expected to be a stiff challenge from a well-liked former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, Sullivan’s approval numbers are in the tank as the state is feeling the fallout from Trump’s policies.
Alaska Beacon: ‘We do not consent!’ Demonstrators protest US Sen. Dan Sullivan ahead of legislative speech
By Corinne Smith
February 19, 2026
Dozens of demonstrators rallied at the Alaska State Capitol on Wednesday ahead of Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan’s annual address to the legislature, criticizing the senator for supporting the Trump administration over Alaskans and Alaskan values.
“We do not consent to the devastating cuts to our federal government. We do not consent to the unregulated pillaging of our land. We do not consent to hungry children, tax cuts for billionaires or the occupation of American cities by our own government,” she said.
“Where has Senator Sullivan been? Has he served as a meaningful check on the abuse of power?” she asked. “No!” the crowd shouted back.
Paul DeSloover, a military veteran, called on Sullivan to honor his oath as a former member of the U.S. Marine Corps to protect and defend the U.S. Constitution. “We have to remember and not forget and demand that he no longer be a coward, but do the right thing for America,” he said.
“I’m up here, not for myself, because I will probably be dead before the ruins of what they are constructing happens,” he said. “But for the next generation and the generation after that.”
Demonstrators moved inside the Capitol and lined the hallway displaying signs for the senator as he walked into the House chambers. Some yelled out “shame!” and “town hall!” — a demand for the senator to host public town halls with Alaskans, which his detractors say he has neglected to do.