{"id":229,"date":"2026-05-29T20:54:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T20:54:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=229"},"modified":"2026-05-29T20:54:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T20:54:24","slug":"alaskans-seeking-sen-sullivan-rep-begich-stance-on-trump-compensation-fund-get-silence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=229","title":{"rendered":"Alaskans seeking Sen. Sullivan, Rep. Begich stance on Trump compensation fund get silence"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan and Rep. Nick Begich are not saying how they feel about two of President Trump\u2019s most controversial priorities: a $1 billion security-related request for his ballroom and a nearly $1.8 billion compensation fund that could pay Jan. 6 riot defendants and other Trump allies.<\/p>\n

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The Trump administration claims the fund will compensate people who have been \u201cvictimized\u201d by the U.S. Department of Justice.<\/p>\n

Since mid-May, Alaska Public Media has sent multiple emails asking for Sullivan\u2019s position on these two issues. Staff at his Senate office and his campaign have not responded, and Sullivan did not grant interview requests for this story.<\/p>\n

Begich\u2019s office did not respond this week to an interview request or specific questions either.<\/p>\n

Sullivan and Begich rarely criticize the president\u2019s initiatives, even those that push the boundaries of executive power in ways that have other congressional Republicans speaking out<\/u>. Their silence on Trump\u2019s recent controversies reflects the bind they\u2019re in on the two issues, which public polling<\/u> suggests are broadly unpopular<\/u>. Both the senator and congressman have Trump\u2019s endorsement as they seek reelection this year, and Trump showed in recent elections in Louisiana, Kentucky and Texas that he\u2019ll punish Republicans he deems insufficiently loyal<\/u>, by campaigning against them and supporting their opponents in primary elections.<\/p>\n

Alaskans critical of Trump often say they don\u2019t feel they have access to Sullivan and Begich.<\/p>\n

Kodiak retiree Jone Suleski said she wanted to ask questions of the two candidates at a meet-and-greet event during the island town\u2019s Crab Fest last week.<\/p>\n

Suleski was among a crowd of people who went to Double Shovel\u2019s cider house in Kodiak for what was billed as a 6 p.m. session with Sullivan and Congressman Begich, organized by Republican District 5 chair Aaron Griffin.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were waiting,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Suleski said she planned to press Sullivan about Trump\u2019s $1.776 billion \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund, which she called a \u201ccorrupt money grab.\u201d Alaska\u2019s other Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski, calls it a \u201cslush fund.\u201d<\/p>\n

But, after about 40 minutes with no members of Congress in sight, Suleski said she and others gave up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe overall feeling amongst everybody was, \u2018We didn’t really think he was going to show, did you?\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Sullivan\u2019s office did not say why he missed the Kodiak meet-and-greet on May 22. The Senate was released for the week the prior afternoon.<\/p>\n

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A Begich campaign spokesman said notice of the meet-and-greet was circulated before the congressman\u2019s travel schedule was finalized. The organizer, Griffin, confirmed that account.<\/p>\n

The House took evening votes on Thursday, May 21 before breaking for the weeklong Memorial Day recess. Leaders of both chambers scuttled votes that were expected to keep lawmakers in Washington longer.<\/p>\n

Begich\u2019s opponents attended their own separate meet-and-greet events at the Kodiak cidery earlier. Democratic challenger Matt Schultz isn\u2019t giving the incumbent a pass.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this was the first time that Nick Begich were completely inaccessible or ducked and covered from an important meeting, I’d think, \u2018All right, cut the guy some slack,\u2019\u201d Schultz said. \u201cBut this is a pattern. It’s an obvious pattern \u2026 so no, that excuse does not hold any water with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Schultz and independent challenger Bill Hill are critical of the compensation fund and say spending taxpayer funds on the ballroom is a bad move.<\/p>\n

Hill said the voters he talked to at the cider house, and at Crab Fest more broadly, were polite, even if they disagreed with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever you’re in that setting, there are some challenging questions that come, because we all don’t see eye to eye on any specific issue,\u201d Hill said. \u201cBut I wouldn’t say necessarily confrontational.\u201d<\/p>\n

After not meeting nor greeting Sullivan at the Double Shovel event, Suleski saw him walk in the Crab Fest parade the next morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe yelled out at him, \u2018Where were you last night?\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cAnd he turned around, you know. And we said, \u2018Hey, hey, we waited for you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Sullivan, she said, did not respond to them and jogged ahead to keep up with his support car.<\/p>\n

Read more War in Iran raises Unalaska plane tickets toward $2,200<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The two haven\u2019t answered questions about the Justice Department \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund. It frustrated Kodiak constituents who wanted to raise it at a meet-and-greet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":228,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nAlaskans seeking Sen. Sullivan, Rep. 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