On July 29, 2025, Dan Sullivan cast one of the 50 votes that gave Emil Bove a lifetime seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. NPR reported before the vote that Bove had suggested the Trump administration may need to ignore judicial commands, an account from a fired Justice Department lawyer that Bove denies. Sullivan also voted to confirm D. John Sauer as solicitor general, whose emergency requests won the administration 26 of 35 Supreme Court shadow-docket decisions at least in part.
Earlier in his Senate career, Sullivan voted to confirm three of the five justices in the majority that overturned the Roe decision: Neil Gorsuch in April 2017, Brett Kavanaugh in October 2018 and Amy Coney Barrett in October 2020. In 2021 he signed a brief asking the Court to reconsider Roe, and all three justices joined the 2022 majority that overruled it, so abortion rights in Alaska now rest on state law alone.
Dan Sullivan's Confirmation Votes and Filings on the Courts and the Supreme Court
- Sullivan Cast One of the 50 Votes That Gave Emil Bove a Lifetime Appeals Court Seat in July 2025. On July 29, 2025, Dan Sullivan voted to confirm Emil Bove to the Third Circuit; Bove was confirmed 50 to 49, so a no vote from Sullivan would have defeated him. A whistleblower, Erez Reuveni, said that before deportation flights in March 2025 Bove raised telling the courts to disregard any order blocking them; Bove denies it. The flights went ahead despite Chief Judge James Boasberg's order, and Boasberg later found that probable cause exists to find the government in criminal contempt before a divided appeals court ordered US District Judge James Boasberg to end his efforts in April 2026; on June 22, 2026 the full D.C. Circuit vacated that order and agreed to rehear the case. As acting deputy attorney general, Bove also ordered the firings of the Jan. 6 prosecutors.
- Sullivan Voted to Confirm Amy Coney Barrett, Who Joined the Ruling That Overturned Roe v. Wade. On October 26, 2020 Sullivan voted to confirm Amy Coney Barrett as an associate justice of the Supreme Court, and the nomination was confirmed 52 to 48. In June 2022 Barrett joined the majority opinion in Dobbs, in which THOMAS, GOR- SUCH, KAVANAUGH, and BARRETT, JJ., joined, which held that "The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled". In the June 2025 CASA case, BARRETT, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, limiting the power of federal judges to block an administration policy nationwide.
- Sullivan Voted to Confirm Brett Kavanaugh, Who Joined the Ruling That Overturned Roe v. Wade. On October 6, 2018, Sullivan voted to confirm Brett Kavanaugh as an associate justice of the Supreme Court, and the nomination was confirmed 50 to 48. Kavanaugh was part of the same five-justice Dobbs majority that ended the federal constitutional right to abortion, and he joined the CASA opinion.
- Sullivan Voted to Confirm Neil Gorsuch, Who Joined the Ruling That Overturned Roe v. Wade. On April 7, 2017, Sullivan voted to confirm Neil Gorsuch as an associate justice of the Supreme Court, and the nomination was confirmed 54 to 45. Gorsuch was the third justice Sullivan voted to confirm who joined the Dobbs majority and the CASA opinion.
- Sullivan Signed a 2021 Brief Asking the Supreme Court to Reconsider Roe v. Wade. On July 29, 2021, Sullivan was one of 228 members of Congress who signed an amicus brief in Dobbs urging the Court to uphold Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban and arguing that "ROE AND CASEY SHOULD BE RECONSIDERED"; the signature list includes "Dan Sullivan (AK)". The Court did what the brief asked and overruled both decisions, holding that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion.
- Sullivan Voted to Confirm the Solicitor General Who Won 26 Emergency Orders for the Administration. On April 3, 2025, Sullivan voted to confirm D. John Sauer as solicitor general, the Justice Department's lawyer before the Supreme Court; he was confirmed 52 to 45 without a Democratic vote. Of 35 shadow-docket decisions on the administration's actions, 26 ruled for the administration at least partially, including orders letting it terminate research grants at the National Institutes of Health and end Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans and Haitians, the Brennan Center found. The Court also ruled in Trump v. CASA, argued by Sauer's office, that universal injunctions likely exceed the equitable authority that Congress gave federal courts.
- Sullivan Voted to Confirm Pam Bondi, Whose Justice Department Filed a Misconduct Complaint Against a Judge. On February 4, 2025, Sullivan voted to confirm Pam Bondi as attorney general. In July 2025 her department filed a misconduct complaint against Chief Judge Boasberg, who had ordered a halt to the deportation flights, and an appeals judge dismissed it, faulting the department for failing to provide "sufficient evidence". Boasberg later ruled that the men deported on those flights were denied due process, NPR reported.
What the Court Decisions Dan Sullivan Helped Shape Mean for Alaska
- Abortion rights. Since the Dobbs decision overruled Roe and Casey, the right to an abortion in Alaska depends on state law rather than the U.S. Constitution.
- Emergency orders. The Brennan Center found that the Supreme Court's emergency orders for the administration have led to mass firings of civil servants, the defunding of scientific research and racial profiling in immigration sweeps.
Frequently Asked Questions About Dan Sullivan on Courts and judges
What is Dan Sullivan's record on the courts under Trump?
Dan Sullivan cast one of the 50 votes to confirm Emil Bove to a lifetime appeals court seat, after a whistleblower said Bove had suggested defying court orders, which Bove denies. Sullivan also voted to confirm Solicitor General John Sauer, whose emergency requests won 26 of 35 shadow-docket decisions at least in part, and Attorney General Pam Bondi, whose department filed a misconduct complaint against a judge that was dismissed.
Did Dan Sullivan vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett?
Yes. Dan Sullivan voted to confirm Brett Kavanaugh on October 6, 2018, in a 50-48 vote, and he also voted to confirm Neil Gorsuch in 2017 and Amy Coney Barrett in 2020. All three joined the 2022 Dobbs majority that overruled Roe and Casey, the outcome Sullivan had urged in a 2021 brief signed as "Dan Sullivan (AK)".
Did Dan Sullivan vote to confirm Emil Bove to the Third Circuit?
Yes. Dan Sullivan voted on July 29, 2025 to confirm Emil Bove, who was confirmed 50 to 49. Bove had been President Trump's criminal defense lawyer and, as the Justice Department's acting No. 2 official, ordered the firing of a group of prosecutors involved in those Jan. 6 criminal cases.
Last updated: 2026-10-25