Dan Sullivan (U.S. senator)

Military service

Sullivan has served in the United States Marine Corps since 1993, both on active duty and in the reserves. Sullivan, who has spent several years with a reconnaissance battalion based in Anchorage, initially left active duty in 1997 when he first moved to Alaska, but has since been recalled to active duty three times: from 2004 to 2006, again in early 2009, and for a six-week tour in Afghanistan in July 2013. ^[4] In 2011 he was recommended for promotion to lieutenant colonel by then-retired General John Abizaid, a board member of the Sullivan family-based RPM International corporation since 2008. Sullivan is now a colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. He is a recipient of the Defense Meritorious Service Medal. ^[5]

Early legal career

Sullivan served as a judicial law clerk for Judge Andrew Kleinfeld of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Fairbanks from 1997 to 1998. He then clerked for Chief Justice Warren Matthews of the Alaska Supreme Court in Anchorage in 1998–99. ^[6] In 2000, Sullivan joined the Anchorage office of the Perkins Coie law firm, focusing on commercial law and corporate law. He joined the Alaska bar that same year. ^[6]

White House and State Department

In 2002, Sullivan he headed the International Economics Directorate of the National Economic Council and National Security Council staffs at the White House. He advised President George W. Bush and the National Security Advisor and NEC chairman. He left the White House in 2004. ^[5]

In 2006, Bush appointed Sullivan United States Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs. The United States Senate unanimously confirmed Sullivan in May of that year. He served in this capacity until January 2009. While serving as Assistant Secretary of State he owned a house in Anchorage and continued to vote in Alaska elections by absentee ballot, while claiming Bethesda, Maryland, as his primary residence for tax purposes. ^{[7] [8]}

Alaska Attorney General

Alaska Attorney General Talis Colberg resigned in February 2009 over the Alaska Public Safety Commissioner dismissal scandal. Governor Sarah Palin nominated Wayne Anthony Ross for attorney general, but the Alaska Legislature rejected Ross. Palin then nominated Sullivan. ^[9] He was sworn into office in June 2009, while the Alaska Legislature was out of session. The Alaska Legislature unanimously confirmed Sullivan's appointment on April 9, 2010. ^[10] Sullivan, who had been retained by Governor Sean Parnell, stepped down as attorney general on December 5, 2010, to be replaced by John J. Burns. ^{[11] [12]}

Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources Alaska

On November 18, 2010, shortly after being elected, Alaska Governor Sean Parnell appointed Sullivan Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, replacing former Commissioner Thomas E. Irwin. In 2013, during his term in office, Sullivan was deployed to Afghanistan for six weeks, in his role as the executive officer of the 4th Marine Division's Anti-Terrorism Battalion. ^[13]

2014 election

On October 15, 2013, Sullivan announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democratic incumbent Mark Begich in the 2014 election. ^[14] He was endorsed by the Club for Growth. ^[15]

On June 10, 2014, Sullivan offered Begich the Alaska Agreement. ^[16] This was a modified version of the People's Pledge. This tactic had previously been used in the Massachusetts 2012 U.S. Senate race between Elizabeth Warren and Scott Brown to drastically limit outside, third-party spending. ^[16] Begich rejected the agreement. ^[16] According to Ballotpedia, outside spending in the race hit nearly $40 million. ^[17]

Despite Sarah Palin's late-race endorsement of 2010 party nominee Joe Miller, Sullivan won the August 19 Republican primary with 40% of the vote to and Miller's 32% and Treadwell's 25%. ^{[18] [19]}

On November 12, 2014, the Associated Press ^[20] and CNN ^[21] declared that Sullivan had defeated Begich in the general election by about 8,000 votes—48.6 to 45.4 percent. At the time, there were approximately 31,000 votes left to count and Begich refused to concede. ^[22] Begich conceded on November 17. ^[23] Final results showed that Sullivan defeated Begich 47.96% to 45.83%, a margin of 6,014 votes out of 282,400 cast. ^{[24] [25]}

2020 election

In the 2020 election, after running unopposed in the Republican primary election, Sullivan faced independent candidate Al Gross, an orthopedic surgeon and former commercial fisherman who had been nominated by the Alaska Democratic Party. The race was considered "unexpectedly close," with some polls indicating that the two candidates were neck-and-neck. ^[26] Gross touted his "deep roots" in the state and published several campaign videos that received national attention. ^[27] In addition to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee's funding of Gross's candidacy, Gross reportedly did "an excellent job fundraising", outraising Sullivan between July 1 and the end of September of 2019. ^[28]

While the race was considered "too early to call" for several days after the November 3 election, Gross called Sullivan to concede on November 13. ^[29] Ultimately, Sullivan defeated Gross 54% to 41%, with Alaskan Independence Party nominee John Howe receiving nearly 5% of the vote. ^[30]

Tenure

Sullivan was sworn into office on January 6, 2015, by Vice President Joe Biden.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Airland
  • Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
• Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
  • Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
  • Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet
  • Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
  • Subcommittee on Space, Science and Competitiveness
  • Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
• Committee on Environment and Public Works
  • Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water and Wildlife (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management, and Regulatory Oversight
• Committee on Veterans' Affairs

Caucuses

• Senate Republican Conference

Donald Trump

Sullivan opposed Trump during the 2016 presidential race, releasing a statement that said, "We need national leaders who can lead by example" on issues of sexual assault and violence against women. Sullivan added, "The reprehensible revelations about Donald Trump have shown that he can't. Therefore, I am withdrawing my support for his candidacy." ^[32]

Sullivan voted to acquit Trump at the conclusion of his impeachment trial. ^{[33] [34]} During Sullivan's reelection bid, Trump endorsed him, saying Sullivan supported Trump's agenda. ^[35]

By October 6, 2020, Sullivan announced that he would be voting for Trump, saying the choice was "very clear." ^[36]

Environment

Sullivan rejects that there is a scientific consensus on climate change. ^{[37] [38]} He has argued that "the verdict is still out on the human contribution to climate change"; the scientific consensus is that human activity is a primary contributor to climate change. ^[38]

In October 2020, the Environmental Investigation Agency recorded and published conversations between undercover actors, who pretended to be potential investors in Pebble Mine in Alaska, and corporate executives. In these recordings, the corporate executives make clear that they intend to expand the mine far beyond previously stated intentions, and that they believe Sullivan would quietly support this project after the election. In response, Sullivan expressed his opposition to the project. ^{[39] [40]} Sullivan has stated that he plans to donate campaign contributions received from Pebble Mine executives to charity. ^[41]

Sullivan has lobbied the Trump administration to open up the Tongass National Forest in Alaska to logging and other forms of development. ^{[42] [43]} In October 2020, the Trump administration permitted such projects, stripping protections that had been in place for nearly two decades. ^[43]

Foreign policy

In July 2017, Sullivan co-sponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act (s. 720), which made it a federal crime for Americans to encourage or participate in boycotts against Israel and Israeli settlements in the occupied territories if protesting actions by the Israeli government. ^{[44] [45]}

Gun policy

In the 2014 Senate campaign in Alaska, the National Rifle Association (NRA) declined to make an endorsement. The NRA gave Begich an "A-" rating and Sullivan an "A-q" rating, the "q" indicating the rating was qualified because Sullivan had no voting record at the time. ^[46]

Health care and public health

Sullivan opposes the Affordable Care Act and voted to repeal it. ^{[47] [48] [49]}

On November 17, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sullivan did not wear a mask while presiding over the Senate. Senator Sherrod Brown asked him to "please wear a mask as he speaks." Sullivan told Brown he was not taking instructions from Brown and later called Brown a "far-left senator." Senator Ted Cruz called Brown an "ass" for making the request and suggested it was virtue signaling. ^{[50] [51]} CDC guidelines state that people should wear face masks while indoors to halt the spread of COVID-19. ^{[51] [52]}

Judiciary

In 2016, Sullivan defended the Republican refusal to hold a hearing for President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, on the basis that the nomination was made "in the midst of an important national election." Sullivan said it was not "about the individual, it's about the principle" and "Alaskans deserve to have a voice in that direction through their vote, and we will ensure that they have one." ^{[53] [54]} In October 2020, in the last few weeks before the 2020 presidential election, Sullivan defended Trump's decision to nominate a Supreme Court justice—saying he was "well within his constitutional authority"—and voted to confirm the nominee, Amy Coney Barrett. ^{[53] [54] [55]}

Missile defense system

In 2017, after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un threatened the United States with an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) strike and conducted an ICBM test in which its missile landed about 200 miles (320 km) off the coast of Japan, Sullivan called for improvements to the U.S. missile defense system. ^[56]

Social policy

Sullivan has not made social issues a major part of his platform. ^[57] He opposes abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, or threat to the life of the mother. ^[58] He opposes same-sex marriage. ^[58]

Sullivan introduced the bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation, the FIRST STEP Act, but opposed the act after incurring amendments by the House of Representatives. The amended bill passed the Senate 87–12 on December 18, 2018. ^[59] Trump signed the bill into law 3 days later.

Sullivan has cosponsored the bipartisan STATES Act proposed in the 115th U.S. Congress by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and Colorado Senator Cory Gardner that would exempt individuals or corporations in compliance with state cannabis laws from federal enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act. ^[60]

2021 National Defense Authorization Act

In December 2020, during his lame-duck period, Trump vetoed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. ^[61] The veto left new Coast Guard cutters that were scheduled to be homeported in Alaska without port facilities to maintain them. ^[61] Sullivan questioned the veto, because it put in question whether the cutters could be placed in Alaska.