On April 23, 2026, Dan Sullivan voted no on a budget amendment to make room for legislation requiring FEMA to spend the disaster recovery money Congress had already provided. It failed 49 to 49, so his vote decided it. At the time FEMA owes communities almost $10 billion. In April 2025 he also voted against affirming FEMA's role in disaster relief. In July 2025 he voted to end federal money for public broadcasting, including the stations that carry emergency alerts in rural Alaska.
Sullivan voted to confirm both Homeland Security secretaries who ran FEMA, Kristi Noem and Markwayne Mullin. Under them FEMA twice turned down Alaska's requests for more federal help after ex-Typhoon Halong, which left more than a thousand people are displaced in western Alaska in October 2025. The denial leaves the federal government covering 75%, and Alaska pays the rest.
Dan Sullivan's Votes on FEMA, Disaster Aid and Emergency Alerts
- Sullivan Cast the Deciding Vote Against Requiring FEMA to Release Disaster Recovery Money in April 2026. On April 23, 2026, Dan Sullivan voted no on Sen. Adam Schiff's amendment to the budget resolution, which created a reserve fund for legislation requiring the obligation of amounts appropriated to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for public assistance and hazard mitigation. The amendment was rejected 49 to 49, so a yes vote from Sullivan would have adopted it. That month, FEMA owes communities almost $10 billion, according to internal agency documents. The Congressional Research Service found that HMGP has not been approved for a new major disaster declaration since March 18, 2025. That program pays communities to rebuild to a safer standard after a disaster, so places hit by storms since then have had no new money from it.
- Sullivan Voted Against Affirming FEMA's Role in Disaster Relief in April 2025. On April 4, 2025, Sullivan voted no on Sen. Alex Padilla's amendment creating a reserve fund that supports the continued, central role of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in disaster relief for survivors in every state. It failed 48 to 51. That spring President Trump said FEMA could be eliminated, and Noem said "The President wants it eliminated as it currently exists". In fiscal 2025, over 4,300 employees separated from FEMA in fiscal year 2025, the Government Accountability Office found. In an Economist/YouGov poll, just 9 percent of respondents say FEMA should be eliminated.
- Sullivan Voted to Cut Funding for the Alaska Stations That Broadcast Emergency Alerts in July 2025. On July 16, 2025, Sullivan voted no on a motion to make sure no public station designated as a primary entry point in the Emergency Alert System would lose funding as a result of the rescissions. It failed 48 to 51. The next day he voted yes on the Rescissions Act, which passed 51 to 48 and took back $1.1 billion in funding for public broadcasting through fiscal year 2027. In Bethel, station KYUK, which warned Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta villages as the remains of Typhoon Halong approached in October 2025, has lost federal funding that was up to 70% of its budget, and the station plans to severely cut staff and some programming.
- Sullivan Voted to Confirm Kristi Noem, Whose FEMA Lost Thousands of Staff and Denied Alaska Full Typhoon Aid. On January 25, 2025, Sullivan voted to confirm Kristi Noem as secretary of homeland security, the department that runs FEMA. Under Noem, over 4,300 employees separated from FEMA. From June 2025 she required that she personally signs off on all funding requests for more than $100,000, a rule in force until April 2026, and by the end of 2025 FEMA was sitting on more than $15 billion in unspent funds. After the July 2025 Texas Hill Country flood, FEMA answered just over 15,000 of the approximately 55,000 calls from survivors. For Alaska, Noem's department denied Alaska's request for full reimbursement of Halong costs; the request was denied on Dec. 20, 2025.
- Sullivan Voted to Confirm Markwayne Mullin, Whose Department Rejected Alaska's Typhoon Aid Appeal. On March 23, 2026, Sullivan voted to confirm Markwayne Mullin as secretary of homeland security. On May 31, 2026, Mullin's FEMA rejected Alaska's request for a 90% federal reimbursement for the first 90 days of Halong relief, costs which the state said reached $20 million in the first weeks after ex-Typhoon Halong. The denial leaves the federal government covering 75%, and the state covering the remaining 25%.
What the FEMA Decisions Dan Sullivan Enabled Cost Western Alaska After Typhoon Halong
- Typhoon recovery costs. The May 2026 denial left Alaska on the hook for tens of millions of dollars, the Alaska Beacon reported. In February 2026 the latest FEMA assessment at that time was $125 million in damage from the western Alaska storms, and Alaska pays 25% of the eligible costs.
- Villages that must move. The hardest-hit villages of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok have voted to relocate, but funding and timelines are uncertain.
- Emergency alerts in rural Alaska. KYUK is one of the few sources of local news and native language programming for a mostly Yup'ik region. On the Kenai Peninsula, the rescission meant the loss of 40% of each of their annual operating budgets for stations KBBI in Homer and KDLL in Kenai.
Frequently Asked Questions About Dan Sullivan on Disaster response
What is Dan Sullivan's record on disaster response under Trump?
Dan Sullivan cast the deciding vote against a budget amendment to require FEMA to release recovery money, which failed 49 to 49, and voted against affirming FEMA's role in disaster relief. He voted for the 2025 law that ended federal money for the public stations that relay emergency alerts. He voted to confirm Kristi Noem and Markwayne Mullin, and their department twice refused Alaska's requests for a larger federal share of Typhoon Halong costs, leaving the state covering the remaining 25%.
Did Dan Sullivan vote against FEMA disaster money?
Dan Sullivan voted no on April 23, 2026 on an amendment to make room for requiring FEMA to spend money Congress had already provided for public assistance and hazard mitigation, and it failed 49 to 49. One more yes vote would have adopted it. At the time NPR reported that FEMA owes communities almost $10 billion.
Why is Alaska paying 25% of the Typhoon Halong recovery?
Dan Sullivan voted to confirm Markwayne Mullin, and on May 31, 2026 Mullin's FEMA rejected Alaska's request for a 90% federal reimbursement. That left the normal split, with the state covering the remaining 25%. Noem's FEMA had already denied Alaska's request for full reimbursement in December 2025.
How did Dan Sullivan vote on funding for KYUK and other Alaska public radio stations?
Dan Sullivan voted for the July 2025 Rescissions Act, which passed 51 to 48, and against a motion to protect stations in the Emergency Alert System. The more than $20 million in funding for Alaska's 27 public radio and television stations was part of what the law took back, according to the Alaska Beacon.
Last updated: 2026-10-25