This story was originally published in the Alaska Beacon.
Alaska lawmakers expect bipartisan coalitions to control the state House and Senate when the Alaska Legislature convenes in January, but they don’t know who the state’s governor will be.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s second term isn’t over until December 2026, but in a series of interviews, legislators say they believe he may be offered a job in the new administration of President Donald Trump, and in interviews, the governor has indicated that he’s open to taking a job with Trump.
“I think the expectation has been that Gov. Dunleavy will take a position with the Trump administration,” said Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage. “I mean, that’s probably the worst-kept secret in Juneau.”
Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, said he’s been looking for Dunleavy’s name to be mentioned as a candidate for various cabinet positions, but he hasn’t seen it yet.
In October, Dunleavy told reporter Nat Herz that he hadn’t had a conversation with the president-elect about a job, but that he wouldn’t rule out the possibility.
The governor’s office declined an interview request by email on Thursday and said the governor hasn’t had any discussions with Trump about a cabinet position. A spokesperson referred to a Wednesday TV interview in which the governor said, “I’m more than happy to have a discussion with the President about anything, as long as it can move Alaska forward.”
On Friday, Dunleavy’s social media account shared a video from Trump in which the president-elect said he intends to accelerate development of the long-planned trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline.
“Thank you to your great governor,” Trump said. “We’re going to work together just like we have in the past, and it was a very special relationship, Mike. Thank you very much. I look forward to a long and enduring future relationship.”
If Dunleavy were to leave office, Article III, Section 11, of the state constitution would kick in automatically, and Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom would become governor. The state’s adjutant general, Torrence Saxe, is currently the No. 3 person in the state’s line of succession, and he would become lieutenant governor. Saxe leads the Alaska National Guard and the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
There wouldn’t be a special election unless Dahlstrom were to also leave office, making Saxe governor.
Wielechowski said that if Dunleavy leaves, it could be a net positive for progress on a variety of issues where lawmakers have significantly different views from the governor.
Last year, legislators overwhelmingly passed a bill that would have permanently increased funding for public schools. Dunleavy vetoed it, and lawmakers failed by a single vote to override that veto.
Dunleavy also vetoed a swath of projects from the Legislature-passed budget and a series of policy bills, some of which passed by wide margins.
“I think the governor has burned a lot of bridges with the Legislature in the last few years,” Wielechowski said. “I think the state’s due for a fresh start there.”
Rep. Andrew Gray, D-Anchorage, offered a similar view on Election Day in a streamed broadcast, saying that if Dunleavy were to join Trump in Washington, “that is a silver lining for Alaska.”
Stevens said he’s trying to stay prepared to work with whoever occupies the governor’s office in January.
“If he’s still here, we’ve got to work with him. He’s the governor, and he stays through the next two years. We’ve got to find a way to make it work, and we haven’t in the past. You know, he’s vetoed our budgets. He’s not agreed with us in so many areas, so that’s a real concern. We’ve got to make sure that we are able to work with him. So I don’t — the last thing I want to do is offend the governor,” he said.
“If you want things to work for Alaska, you’ve got to work together. So we’re prepared to work with whoever the governor is,” said Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak and the House’s incoming rules chair.
Asked whether Dunleavy had burnt his bridges with the Legislature, Stutes said she doesn’t personally think so.
“My job is to represent my constituents and work with whoever the governor might be, and if he hurt my feelings last year, let’s start over this year.”
A Dunleavy departure wouldn’t be without precedent: former Alaska Gov. Wally Hickel left office in 1969 to become secretary of the Interior for President Richard Nixon.
Nixon fired Hickel from the job after about a year.
During his first term in office, Trump didn’t announce his cabinet picks until late November or early December.
Sen. Löki Tobin, D-Anchorage, said she doesn’t know whether Trump will appoint Dunleavy, and “If I’m looking at a crystal ball, I don’t really have an answer other than that the president cannot appoint their cabinet until Congress is seated, and that means after the inauguration, and so I anticipate on Dec. 15, we will have a budget from Gov. Dunleavy,” she said. “I anticipate when I swear into office, Gov. Dunleavy will still be our sitting governor. And after that, I don’t know what will happen, but either way, I am preparing myself for an administration in the state of Alaska, who is in a different political party than myself and may have different views.”
James Brooks is a longtime Alaska reporter, having previously worked at the Anchorage Daily News, Juneau Empire, Kodiak Mirror and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. A graduate of Virginia Tech, he is married to Caitlyn Ellis, owns a house in Juneau and has a small sled dog named Barley.
