Dunleavy is competing for his next job, abdicating his duties as governor

He should be in Juneau working with the Legislature. Working on education, the future of energy supplies in Southcentral, the cost of electricity in Fairbanks and elsewhere, a short-term fiscal plan that does not mean creating a $1 billion deficit and a long-term fiscal plan that does not mean the end of the Permanent Fund and the end of the Permanent Fund Dividend.

There is a lot that Gov. Mike Dunleavy refuses to do. His interests are elsewhere.

He is in Washington, D.C., delivering words of wisdom such as this to Fox News gasbag Stuart Varney: “We have more sanctions on us Stuart than I think Iran has on them from this administration.”

Dunleavy is running for something, searching for his next job, perhaps trying to elevate himself in Trump world, while abdicating his role as governor.

Varney asked Dunleavy about Sen. Josh Hawley’s idea that the U.S. should put a 25 percent tariff on imported battery, wind and solar energy components from China.

“The issue with allowing China to do these things for us is our national security is offshored as well, not to mention the jobs, not to mention the wealth. And so for example, in Alaska we have probably 49 out of the 50 rare earths, metals, in Alaska, huge copper finds. All of these are being impacted by the Biden administration’s policies against mining, oil production in Alaska,” said Dunleavy.

Oil production in the U.S. is at an all-time high.

“I like what Josh Hawley is doing. I wish it didn’t have to happen, I’m a free market guy,” said Dunleavy.

Varney mentioned that Dunleavy will be in the Capitol for the State of the Union speech.

“Governor, I bet that you’ll be looking at the president’s mental and physical abilities as much as anything else, am I right?” said Varney, 75.

“Well yeah, we all age differently, obviously,” said Dunleavy.

“I would say that ah, President Trump, he’s fit for office, President Trump is,” said Dunleavy.

Clearing the way for Dunleavy’s D.C. activities is his Washington, D.C. publicist, Mary Vought, who is now getting paid $5,000 a month under the latest in a series of illegal no-bid contracts.

Dunleavy, a free-market guy, has extended or amended Vought’s contract eight times over four years, with two more extensions lined up to keep it in place until the end of Dunleavy’s term in 2026.
Here are the Vought contracts and other documents obtained through a public records request.

Vought is married to Russell Vought, a Trump loyalist who is leading the effort to inject Christian nationalism into what the Voughts hope will be a second Trump administration, Politico reported two weeks ago.

Russell Vought, Trump’s former budget director, is an adviser to Project 2025, a radical group that aims to remake the federal government in Trump’s image. Vought leads what he calls the Center for Renewing America.

Russell is a key player in Trump’s dream of getting revenge on political opponents.

“One document drafted by CRA staff and fellows includes a list of top priorities for CRA in a second Trump term. “Christian nationalism” is one of the bullet points. Others include invoking the Insurrection Act on Day One to quash protests and refusing to spend authorized congressional funds on unwanted projects, a practice banned by lawmakers in the Nixon era,” Politico said.

The New Republic reported: “Over the last several years, Vought—who has been rumored to have a good shot at becoming chief of staff should Trump win a second term—has increasingly adopted the ideology that Christian nationalists are under attack.”

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