Sullivan takes cover on Trump ballroom and slush fund
Sen. Dan Sullivan’s real problem with Alaska voters is not the other Dan Sullivan, Chuck Schumer, George Soros or Mary Peltola.
He needs votes from those who have not succumbed to Trumpism, but is handicapped by his total inability to say or do anything of consequence if it means criticizing Trump.
Sullivan’s chronic condition is exacerbated by his need to remain within the warm embrace of Trump, lest the ballroom master turn on Sullivan and cancel his GOP dance card.
Sullivan may think this allows him to have it both ways—sticking with Trump on matters of substance, while trying to avoid giving anti-Trump Alaska voters more votes to hold against him. But no one will be fooled. Sullivan’s silence on these matters reveals the truth.
Sullivan, regarded as one of the three most vulnerable GOP senators running for re-election, voted with the other two—Susan Collins of Maine and John Husted—for the Schumer amendment to send the bill to committee.
Murkowski, who claims to oppose the slush fund, opposed the Schumer amendment, which failed on a 49—50 vote. I suspect Murkowski was helping provide cover for Sullivan.
On the ballroom, Sullivan and Murkowski voted for an amendment by Oregon Democrat Jeff Merkley to ban all funding, private or public, without Congressional approval. That needed 60 votes and was 7 votes short. The outcome was never in doubt.
In the end, Sullivan voted for the bill to fund ICE and immigration efforts—a bill that does nothing about the slush fund and the ballroom—while Murkowski was the only Republican to oppose the bill, which passed 52-47.
Sullivan has refused to explain his alleged positions on the slush fund and the ballroom, two issues that he will do everything possible to not talk about, pointing only to his show votes.
The Washington Post was going too far regarding Sullivan when it said, “Vulnerable Republicans have reached the point of seeing political advantage in bucking the unpopular president on his most controversial moves. Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio), who trails former senator Sherrod Brown (D) by 8 points in a new Fox News poll, and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) joined Democrats to support an unsuccessful amendment to block Trump’s fund.”
Sullivan is not “bucking the unpopular president” in any way that counts.
Sullivan won’t elaborate on the slush fund or say anything about Trump’s decision to ban the IRS from going after Trump or anyone in his family for back taxes.
After the acting attorney general claimed to have canceled the fund, Sullivan realized that he was opposed to the fund.
Sullivan’s office released this statement to Alaska Public Media Thursaday explaining his ex post factor opposition: “After learning more about the anti-weaponization fund, Senator Sullivan concluded that he did not support the fund.”
But unlike his silence on the Trump slush fund, Sullivan did take a public position in favor of the ballroom last year. This has not been covered by Alaska news organizations or come up during the Senate campaign.
While his symbolic vote to require Congressional approval to build the ballroom with either public or private funds was certain to fail, Sullivan has been doing some ballroom dancing on this matter since last fall.
When constituents wrote to Sullivan last year to complain about the destruction of the East Wing of the White House, Sullivan defended Trump’s actions.
Sullivan claimed that Trump was renovating the East Wing when he had it torn down.
“Thank you for contacting me regarding White House Renovations,” Sullivan wrote to those who opposed Trump’s demolition.
Sullivan’s form letter claimed that “renovation work began on part of the East Wing” in October to make way for the ballroom that was OK because it would be funded by private donations.
“The new event space is intended to host foreign dignitaries and special events, creating a multi-faceted space funded through private donations,” Sullivan’s letter said.
The politics of the ballroom has gotten worse for Trump in the months since the president became obsessed with the idea. It’s a $400 million albatross for Sullivan and all Republicans. The whole thing is an exercise in selling government favors.
When Sullivan is asked about this on the campaign trail, he will claim he tried to do something. But his inability to openly denounce the ballroom grift operation and the slush fund payments and tax scam are far more important than meaningless show votes.
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