Hot off withdrawing $500 million in vaccine research, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was the special guest of Alaska U.S. Sens. Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski on Tuesday in what’s expected to be the first of many visits to the state.
As the 2026 election comes into focus — one where progressives are expected to target legislators like Sullivan and U.S. Rep. Nick Begich — the stop is the first in a parade of Trump officials this month, including Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Transportation Secretary Scott Duffy as they try to blunt the growing political fallout of the first six and a half months of the Trump administration.
Republicans are working hard to frame the Trump presidency as a series of non-stop wins for the Alaska, as was the case with Kennedy on Tuesday when he told reporters that Alaska stood to benefit more than most from a $50 billion rural health care fund meant to blunt the impact of more than $1 trillion in cuts in Medicaid cuts over the next decade.
“Alaska has an opportunity to really get proportionally more money than any other state,” said Kennedy, referring to a grant process that will open later this year. “The most innovative applications are going to get slightly more money than less innovative ones.”
Those directly involved in delivering health care in Alaska aren’t so sure. Many have predicted cutbacks, including the potential wholesale closure of rural health clinics, are likely under the Trump mega bill’s introduction of work requirements designed to kick millions off health insurance. Alaska’s delegation has pointed to a handful of negotiated carve-outs for the state; however, most only serve to delay the harshest impacts until after the 2026 election.
Advocates have also warned that the state, under Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, is poorly positioned to take advantage of any carve-outs the state might be eligible for. Just last month, Alaska Public Media reported that 4,000 Alaskans are caught in the backlog for food stamps, with nearly 800 who have waited longer than a month. Additional bureaucratic burdens, such as Medicaid work requirements contained in the Trump mega bill, are expected to exacerbate an already challenging situation.
Despite their best efforts to frame the Trump bill positively, Alaskans aren’t thrilled.
Sullivan and, particularly, Murkowski have seen their approval ratings with Alaskans drop precipitously since Trump retook office and started implementing the Project 2025 agenda. Murkowski, once a high-profile Trump skeptic, cast a key vote to confirm RFK Jr. over her trepidations about his opposition to vaccines and a decisive vote to pass Trump’s mega bill.
The fallout has been harsh, drawing massive demonstrations and enthusiasm for less Trump-aligned challengers. Sullivan, who has typically enjoyed a positive approval rating by maintaining a largely inoffensive low profile but has since turned into one of Trump’s most reliable cheerleaders, saw his approval rating drop by 16 points since the start of Trump’s second term.
With a crowd of protestors outside, many holding signs supporting social safety net programs and vaccines, Murkowski and Sullivan sat next to Kennedy at a news conference as he defended his move to shut down vaccine research — echoing anti-vaxxer claims about vaccine safety — and flatly denied they were cutting Medicaid.
Murkowski offered a mild critique of Kennedy during the news conference, saying she disagrees with his decision to sack the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and replace it with vaccine skeptics.
Sullivan simply said nothing on Kennedy’s attack on vaccines.
Matt Acuña Buxton is a long-time political reporter who has written for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and The Midnight Sun political blog. He also authors the daily politics newsletter, The Alaska Memo, and can frequently be found live-tweeting public meetings on Bluesky.
