SC Alaska News

U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) has called on Senate Democrats to support a clean, bipartisan continuing resolution (CR) to reopen the federal government after a recent shutdown. The government closure began at midnight on October 1 following a failed Senate vote to pass the CR.

In several media appearances this week, including interviews with Hugh Hewitt, Joe Mathieu on Bloomberg TV, and Amy Demboski on 650 KENI, Sullivan referred to the funding lapse as the “Schumer Shutdown,” attributing responsibility to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. According to Sullivan, “Our goal, the Republican goal, is to keep the government open. Let me just say directly, the Schumer shutdown is 100% avoidable. It's really hard to pin down the Democrats on what they want. I've been in discussions, like you just mentioned, with a number of Democratic senators for the past several weeks and everything that we've kind of said—all right, we can do that, we can do that—they move the goalposts, and then Schumer shut the government down.” He continued: “My view is, Schumer wants the shutdown to atone for what happened to him. If you remember, in March, he voted to keep the government running with a continuing resolution and his far-left wing went berserk on him…He is trying to atone for that.”

Sullivan argued that Republicans have previously supported similar measures without issue: “We want the government funded and it's simple. When you do a clean CR, that's normally the best way to continue because it doesn't choose sides. This is just a continuation, by the way, of Biden era spending that we did when President Biden was in office. 13 different times, Republicans passed clean CRs and the fact that they're now saying they won't do it is more driven by left-wing politics and Schumer's own personal issues with his party than it is by any conviction…The Schumer shutdown needs to be cleared up real fast.”

He also claimed dissatisfaction among Democratic senators with their leadership: “When the members of the Senate in either party think that their leader is solely looking out for his own political hide, that's when you start to lose faith in the leadership and you're starting to see that right now on the floor of the United States Senate.” Sullivan added: “The good news is you saw three Democrats last night who crossed Schumer. That took a lot of guts, by the way, but there are probably 15 or 20 more that want to do it. I think you can see a jailbreak here hopefully soon because the Schumer Shutdown benefits nobody. Well, nobody except, Schumer. Schumer’s putting personal politics above the interests of the nation, our military, and even his own party, his own senators.”

On Alaska-specific issues related to federal funding and health care provisions in pending legislation before Congress this year—such as those intended for rural health transformation—Sullivan stated: “Right now, on the Senate floor, the story that's not being told is, Senate Democrats, for the most part agree with us. They think Schumer is making them walk the plank because he's scared about getting primaried by this congresswoman from Brooklyn in a couple of years and everything he does is driven by his fear of the left wing. That's why he's so anti-Alaska. The far-left groups in America, they can't stand our state. They want to shut us down, turn us into a national park.”

Sullivan criticized Senator Schumer’s approach toward Alaska: “Schumer, that guy is as anti-Alaska as possible. You never had a Senate leader on the Democrat or Republican side who hates our state more, who wants to crush it.” Referring specifically to healthcare provisions for Alaska included in recent legislation—such as increased federal dollars through rural health initiatives—he said: “One of the great many good things you got into One Big Beautiful Bill, this Rural Transformation Health Fund. That's going to be huge for Alaska. We're going to get what I think we deserve... It would strip all that away too... So,the one big provision on health care that really is going benefit Alaska,the Democrats want strip out."

“If Chuck Schumer ever got in power again,” Sullivan concluded,“Alaska would be target number one.So,we’re fighting them way we always do.It’s personal Schumer politics,the Schumer Shutdown over what's good for Alaska and country.”