Donald Trump extols the crowds and enthusiasm at Alaska’s political rally for him. Sen. Lisa Murkowski asks what the former president is so worried about, given his repeated remarks about her. And the former communications director for Rep. Don Young, who died last March, is moving on from the Alaska House office.
There’s more news in “Five Things to Know.”
Alaska’s enthusiasm for Trump
Former President Donald Trump is calling the response from supporters at last week’s political rally in Alaska “more love than I’ve ever had before.”
In an interview with New York Magazine, Trump said the enthusiasm from crowds in Alaska, Arizona and Nevada, where he made personal appearances, are convincing him to make a decision soon about another run for U.S. president.
“Did you see Alaska, and did you see Las Vegas? I’ll tell ya, the enthusiasm and the crowds are bigger than they’ve ever been,” Trump asked the interviewer.
“The enthusiasm is greater than it’s ever been,” Trump said, mentioning the excitement of the standing-room-only crowd at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage that drew thousands of followers to the free event.
Trump said that the turnout and passion of his base demonstrate better than the polls that voters want to see him return to political office. Although the Alaska event was in support of candidates Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Kelly Tshibaka and Sarah Palin, it was Trump’s celebrity that drew supporters to the University of Alaska Anchorage arena.
Sen. Murkowski on Trump’s attention
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said that Donald Trump “seems to be worried about me,” according to an interview that the Alaska senator gave to the Independent newspaper.
Murkowski told the Independent that she is “extremely confident” that she will win re-election. Her campaign raised $1.7 million in the most recent quarter. Tshibaka’s campaign did not respond to a request from the News-Miner about how much it raised in donations. Contributions often are a strong sign of a candidate’s popularity with voters.
Murkowski was the focus of an attack by Trump, who was in Alaska last week to rally for Tshibaka.
The former president bashed Murkowski for voting to impeach him and form a committee to investigate the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. While the Senate vote fell short of creating the committee, the House voted for the bipartisan panel that is now investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, violence.
Sen. Sullivan’s resolution on Biden’s environment rules
Sen. Dan Sullivan’s resolution to overturn environmental permitting reform by President Joe Biden has the support of all 50 Republicans in the U.S. Senate.
The joint resolution of disapproval seeks to overturn a new Biden administration rule under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Biden rule keeps lawmakers from repealing regulations with a simple majority vote.
Republican opposition to Biden’s focus on strengthening environmental rules is likely to gain traction if the party has a big victory in the midterm elections and takes control of both chambers in Congress.
Sullivan’s office said that the senator’s joint resolution of disapproval is to keep the Biden administration from worsening an “already onerous” permitting process for development projects.
Environmental innovations at Alaska Air
Alaska Airlines is working with a high-tech startup to advance carbon capture technology in the manufacture of jet fuels.
Alaska Air Group is working with the company Twelve and Microsoft Corp. on fuels derived from sequestered carbon emissions and renewable energy sources. A commercial demo flight is anticipated that would power a plane with E-Jet, the trade name for the fuel.
In a joint statement, the companies said that they are working on “a low carbon jet fuel produced by a power-to-liquids process” that leverages carbon transformation technology.
“By producing our drop-in E-Jet® fuel from captured CO2, we can rapidly and efficiently close the carbon cycle and allow businesses to sustainably use emissions to power their own business travel,” said Nicholas Flanders, co-Founder and CEO of Twelve.
Spokesman for Rep. Young moves on
Zack Brown, who connected the press to Rep. Don Young and his work in the U.S. House, said a formal goodbye as he finished his last week working on Capitol Hill.
“The day has arrived and is just as bittersweet as I expected. As a millennial who started college amid the Great Recession and experienced the terrible reality of bank foreclosure on our family home, I never thought in a million years I’d get to serve in the United States Congress, let alone for its most legendary member: Congressman Don Young,” Brown said in his farewell statement.
Brown has been serving in the Office of Alaska At-Large, since Young’s unexpected death in March 2021. Young, 88, had represented the state for nearly a half-century.
“Alaskans truly are built differently, and I want to thank our constituents for always being a pleasure to work with and for opening their homes and lives to me during my visits to the State. Alaskans care about their communities and are never afraid to share their ideas and frustrations; it was an honor to be their partner in Congress,” Brown said.
“Although I will exit this great institution for very sad reasons, I’m leaving damn proud of everything the Office of Congressman Don Young accomplished,” Brown said.
Brown will continue to manage communications in Washington, D.C., but now will work in the private sector.
Brown said he will carry with him the skills and insights he developed working with Young and his staff. He concluded his statement noting Young’s contributions in Congress.
“I hope his legacy of good governance and that quintessential Don Young wisdom will help guide this institution in the years ahead,” Brown said.
