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; as the acting No. 2 official at the Justice Department, Bove had ordered the firings of the Jan. 6 prosecutors. On August 8, 2026, Sullivan cast one of the 50 votes that confirmed Todd Blanche as attorney general. Under Blanche the Justice Department indicted former FBI Director James Comey a second time and, on October 22, 2026, sued to block certification of Alaska's U.S. Senate result if Sullivan's Democratic opponent wins.
Asked about the January 6 pardons the day after they were issued, Sullivan would not comment. When the Justice Department sued over Alaska's count, his campaign said "we'll let the DOJ complaint run its course".
Dan Sullivan's Confirmation Votes and Silences on the Justice Department and January 6
- Sullivan Cast One of the 50 Votes That Gave Emil Bove a Lifetime Judgeship in July 2025. On July 29, 2025, Dan Sullivan voted to confirm Emil Bove to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; he was confirmed 50 to 49, so a no vote from Sullivan would have defeated the nomination. As acting deputy attorney general, Bove had ordered the firing of a group of prosecutors involved in those Jan. 6 criminal cases, NPR reported. A fired Justice Department lawyer, Erez Reuveni, said Bove had raised telling the courts to disregard orders on deportation flights; Bove denies it.
- Sullivan Cast One of the 50 Votes That Made Todd Blanche Attorney General in August 2026. On August 8, 2026, Sullivan voted to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general; the vote was 50 to 49, so his vote alone would have changed the result. As acting attorney general, Blanche told NBC News that Americans should be "happy" Trump is deeply involved in DOJ, and that he is not concerned when Trump "encourages or directs or expects the Department of Justice to do its job." Under Blanche the department obtained a second indictment of James Comey in a case that revolves around a photo the former FBI director posted online, which is pending, and on October 22, 2026 it asked a federal court to block the division from certifying the result of the state's U.S. Senate election in Alaska if Democrat Mary Peltola wins. The suit concerns Sullivan's own race, and President Trump said, "I'm the one that said, 'do it'".
- Sullivan Voted to Confirm the Justice Department Official Who Signed the Suit Against Alaska's Senate Count. On October 7, 2025, Sullivan voted to confirm Stanley Woodward as associate attorney general, as part of a group of nominees confirmed together. Woodward is one of the listed attorneys for the Department of Justice on the October 2026 suit, and Peltola's campaign told the court that under the suit "Alaskans, apparently, must elect Senator Dan S. Sullivan or the President will not let them elect anyone at all". The case is pending before Judge Sharon Gleason.
- Sullivan Voted to Confirm Pam Bondi, Whose Justice Department Prosecuted Trump's Critics. On February 4, 2025, Sullivan voted to confirm Pam Bondi as attorney general. Under Bondi the department indicted James Comey and Letitia James in the fall of 2025, and a judge tossed the Comey and James cases after finding the prosecutor unlawfully appointed. Protect Democracy, which tracks these cases, found that "Most of those cases have failed." In January 2026 FBI agents executed an order that authorized agents to seize all physical ballots from the 2020 election in Fulton County, Georgia.
- Sullivan Voted to Confirm Kash Patel, Whose FBI Fired Agents Who Investigated Trump. On February 20, 2025, Sullivan voted to confirm Kash Patel as FBI director. Patel's FBI fired special agents who worked on Jack Smith's probe into Trump, and in October 2026 nine fired employees filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Todd Blanche, which is pending.
- Sullivan Voted to Confirm Jeanine Pirro, Whose Office Tried to Indict Members of Congress. On August 2, 2025, Sullivan voted to confirm Jeanine Pirro as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. Her office investigated Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin and five other Democratic lawmakers over a video telling service members they may refuse illegal orders, and on February 10, 2026 a grand jury declined to indict them, after which Pirro dropped the investigation into the former military lawmakers.
- Sullivan Voted Against Requiring a Governor's Consent Before Troops Deploy in a State in October 2025. On October 9, 2025, Sullivan voted against an amendment to the defense bill to clarify certain limitations on full-time National Guard duty performed in a State, which would have required the governor's consent, and against an amendment to limit the provision of support by the Armed Forces to civilian law enforcement activities. Both failed under a 60-vote threshold. Two months later the Supreme Court refused, for now, to let the president send Guard troops into Illinois over the objections of the governor, and troops have patrolled Washington, D.C. since August 2025, at a level that rose to a peak of about 5,000 troops over the summer.
- Sullivan Would Not Comment on the January 6 Pardons. On January 21, 2025, the day after President Trump granted clemency to about 1,500 January 6 defendants, States Newsroom reported that Sullivan would not comment on the president's clemency for Jan. 6 defendants, saying, "I need to read the order first." Since then, at least 97 of the more than 1,500 individuals granted clemency have been arrested, charged or convicted of other crimes, Lawfare found.
- Sullivan's Campaign Did Not Oppose the Suit to Block Alaska's Count. On October 23, 2026, after the Justice Department sued to stop Alaska from certifying the Senate result if Peltola wins, Sullivan campaign spokesman Nate Adams told Alaska Public Media, "we'll let the DOJ complaint run its course". Peltola's campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have filed a motion to intervene and asked the court to dismiss the suit, which was pending with no ruling reported as of October 25, 2026.
What the Justice Department Under Officials Dan Sullivan Confirmed Has Done in Alaska and Beyond
- Election certification. The Justice Department asked a federal court on October 22, 2026 to block the division from certifying the result of the state's U.S. Senate election if Mary Peltola wins; Notre Dame election law professor Derek Muller said "the legal argument is one of the worst ones I've ever seen". The case is pending, with a motion to intervene and a request to dismiss filed.
- Prosecutions of critics. Protect Democracy's tracker records that the administration targeted dozens of political opponents with criminal charges, most of which failed.
- Pardoned defendants. At least 97 of the more than 1,500 individuals granted clemency for January 6 have since faced other charges, arrests or convictions.
Frequently Asked Questions About Dan Sullivan on Democracy and January 6
What is Dan Sullivan's record on democracy and January 6 under Trump?
Dan Sullivan cast deciding votes to confirm Emil Bove, who fired the January 6 prosecutors, to a lifetime judgeship and Todd Blanche as attorney general, whose department sued to block certification of Alaska's Senate result if Sullivan loses. He also confirmed Pam Bondi and Kash Patel, whose department prosecuted the president's critics in cases that mostly failed, and he would not comment on the January 6 pardons.
Did Dan Sullivan vote to confirm Emil Bove?
Yes. Dan Sullivan voted on July 29, 2025 to confirm Emil Bove to the Third Circuit, and Bove was confirmed 50 to 49. Bove was President Trump's former defense lawyer, and NPR reported that Bove had suggested the Trump administration may need to ignore judicial commands, which he denies.
Is the Justice Department trying to block Alaska's Senate election result?
Yes. Dan Sullivan voted to confirm Attorney General Todd Blanche, whose Justice Department sued on October 22, 2026 to stop Alaska from certifying the U.S. Senate result if Mary Peltola wins, a suit President Trump said he ordered. Sullivan's campaign said it would "let the DOJ complaint run its course"; the case is pending before Judge Sharon Gleason.
Last updated: 2026-10-25