Alaska Ad Criticizing Sullivan’s Votes Leaves Out Context, Makes False Suggestion

An ad from a Democratic-aligned super PAC claims Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan “voted to raise Alaskans’ healthcare costs by $1,800 and on that same day voted to give himself a $500,000 taxpayer-funded payout.” But that’s not the whole story, and the ad leaves the false impression that Sullivan received that money.

The words shown on the screen suggest the senator cashed in on the “taxpayer-funded payout.” He didn’t. Viewers see the words “gave himself a $500,000 payout,” and at the end of the ad, “Dan Sullivan cashing in while Alaskans pay the price.”

Here’s the context missing from the healthcare claim: Sullivan voted in favor of a compromise bill to end a government shutdown in November 2025. The bill did not include an extension of enhanced federal Affordable Care Act subsidies — as many Democrats argued it should have. But the following month, Sullivan was one of four Republicans who voted in favor of a failed bill proposed by Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer to extend the ACA subsidies. Just 3.2% of Alaskans are enrolled in ACA insurance plans, so the expiration of the subsidies affected a small percentage of the state’s population.

The claim that Sullivan “voted to give himself a $500,000 taxpayer-funded payout” refers to the bill’s inclusion of a provision that allowed eight Republican senators — including Sullivan — to seek damages from the federal government related to phone data obtained on them during the special counsel investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Sullivan later said he only learned of the provision’s inclusion when reading the bill just prior to his vote. He vowed that he would not sue the government in pursuit of a payout and said he supported the House repealing that provision, which is what ultimately happened.