Trump's chaos creates 'looming crisis' for Alaska, legislative leaders warn

Sen. Gary Stevens and Rep. Bryce Edgmon have written an important letter to the Alaska congressional delegation about the federal chaos that is damaging Alaska and threatening grave economic damage.

They sent a copy to AWOL Gov. Mike Dunleavy, the guy who should be explaining what Trump has wrought but is too busy competing for presidential favors and saying every day is Christmas under Trump.

The list of damages grows by the day.

So far it includes: the incoherent federal job cuts executed without thought, the potential loss of health care coverage for 165,000 low-income Alaskans, hundreds of millions or billions of potential budget cuts to vital Alaska programs and the loss of $130 million in energy grants.

“It is our duty to inform you that the legislature cannot fix the financial havoc that is being wreaked on Alaskans by the federal government,” the Senate president and House speaker said in their letter.

“We are facing significant budget shortfalls this year and next – and costs are climbing. Alaskans pay exponentially more for gas than the rest of the country. And Alaskans have the second highest average weekly grocery bills in the nation due to our geographic isolation and dependence on imported fuel and food. As such, absorbing a $2 billion plus reduction in the return of federal funds to our state is not an option. It is a direct threat to Alaska’s future, plain and simple,” they wrote.

“To be sure, the continued unchecked elimination of federal programs and untempered reduction in the federal workforce, which was most recently outlined in the February 26 memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget and Office of Personnel and Management regarding initiatives of the Department of Government Efficiency, must end. It is having an outsized impact on our state,” Stevens and Edgmon said.

“The time to sound the alarm is over. It is time to act. Please reach across the aisle and restore the checks and balances that our founding fathers envisioned,” they said.

They closed by saying they would implore Dunleavy and his administration to join them in dealing with this “looming crisis.”

While Sen. Lisa Murkowski recognizes the real danger created by the Trump chaos, Sen. Dan Sullivan and Rep. Nick Begich the Third are blindly cheering every dumb and reckless move by the Musk/Trump regime as brilliant and inspired.

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