On July 1, 2025, Dan Sullivan voted no on an amendment to remove a new federal tax credit for private-school scholarships from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. It failed 50 to 50, so his vote kept the credit in the law. Alaska formally opted into the program, which starts in 2027 with no national cap on its cost. Two weeks later he voted against keeping $1.1 billion for public radio and television and for the bill that took it back, including more than $20 million in funding for Alaska's 27 public stations.
Sullivan voted to confirm Linda McMahon as education secretary. Her department cut its staff nearly in half and canceled grants for Alaska Native students at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where the loss will amount to an estimated $8.8 million. He also voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose department closed the regional Head Start office that serves Alaska.
Dan Sullivan's Votes and Confirmations on Schools, Colleges and Public Broadcasting
- Sullivan Cast the Deciding Vote to Keep an Uncapped Federal Private-School Tax Credit in July 2025. On July 1, 2025, Dan Sullivan voted no on Sen. Mazie Hirono's amendment to eliminate a program of qualified elementary and secondary education scholarships for private schools. It failed 50 to 50, so a yes vote from Sullivan would have removed the program. He then voted for the bill. Starting with the 2027 tax year, donors who give to scholarship groups get their money back from the Treasury dollar for dollar, up to $1,700 a year, with no national cap on the total. The final law discards the budgetary safeguard included in the House version, ITEP found. Families earning up to 300 percent of their area's median income qualify, which EdTrust says is about 90% of all families in the U.S., including the very wealthy. Alaska formally opted into the program.
- Sullivan Voted Against Restoring $1.1 Billion for Public Radio and Television in July 2025. On July 16, 2025, Sullivan voted no on an amendment by Sens. Tammy Baldwin, Lisa Murkowski and Maria Cantwell to strike the rescissions of funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting from the rescissions bill. It failed 47 to 52. The law took back $1.1 billion in funding for public broadcasting through September 2027, and the corporation that sent that money to local stations shut down. In Alaska the rescission took more than $20 million in funding for Alaska's 27 public radio and television stations.
- Sullivan Voted Against Protecting Children's Public Television and Rural Stations, Then for the Cut, in July 2025. On July 16, 2025, Sullivan voted no on Sen. Ed Markey's motion to remove any rescissions that would reduce access to children’s educational programming on public television. It failed 47 to 50. The same day he voted against motions to spare stations that serve rural areas and Tribal communities (roll call 395) and stations that relay emergency alerts (roll call 396). On July 17 he voted for the bill, which passed 51 to 48. Earlier that year the Education Department had canceled the 2020-25 Ready to Learn grant for PBS Kids programs. The grants have helped fund such shows as Molly of Denali, a series about an Alaska Native girl. In Bethel, KYUK has lost federal funding that was up to 70% of its budget.
- Sullivan Voted to Confirm Linda McMahon, Who Cut the Education Department Nearly in Half and Canceled Alaska Native Student Grants. On March 3, 2025, Sullivan voted to confirm Linda McMahon as secretary of education, and on August 1, 2025 voted to confirm Nicholas Kent as under secretary. That March the department cut its workforce from 4,133 employees to 2,183. Its Office for Civil Rights closed seven of the Education Department’s 12 regional civil rights enforcement offices and dismissed more than 6,000 complaints without an investigation, so a family's disability or harassment complaint waits longer or is dropped. In September 2025 the department said it was canceling about $350 million in funding for grant programs for minority-serving colleges; it terminated grant funding for universities’ Alaska Native and Native-Hawaiian-serving programs, and some 120 TRIO programs for low-income and first-generation students lost their grants.
- Sullivan Voted to Confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Whose Department Closed the Head Start Office Serving Alaska. On February 13, 2025, Sullivan voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of health and human services, 52 to 48. In April 2025, five out of 10 regional Head Start offices were abruptly closed and all employees fired. That included closing the Seattle-based Region 10 office serving Alaska Head Start programs, which lost the federal staff who handled their grants and compliance.
- Sullivan Voted to Confirm the Budget Director Whose Office Held Up Alaska School Funds in Summer 2025. On February 6, 2025, Sullivan voted to confirm Russell Vought as director of the Office of Management and Budget. On June 30, 2025, the Education Department told states it was holding back nearly $6.8 billion in federal funding for K-12 schools for teacher training, English learners and after-school programs, pending the budget office's review. Alaska is facing an estimated $46.4 million in grants withheld, the Alaska Beacon reported. The money was released in late July, but the freeze had already caused immediate cuts to Alaska adult education and workforce development programs and staff layoffs.
What the Education Cuts Dan Sullivan Voted For Mean for Alaska Students
- Alaska Native students. At the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the canceled Alaska Native-serving grants will amount to an estimated $8.8 million over the grants' remaining years, the Alaska Beacon reported.
- Career training in Anchorage. The federal government has cut a $3.3 million grant for career and technical education for the Anchorage School District.
- Public radio and television. The rescission took more than $20 million in funding for Alaska’s 27 public radio and television stations.
- Head Start. Alaska Head Start programs lost their regional federal office when the Seattle-based Region 10 office serving Alaska was closed.
Frequently Asked Questions About Dan Sullivan on Education
What is Dan Sullivan's record on education under Trump?
Dan Sullivan cast the deciding vote to keep an uncapped federal tax credit for private-school scholarships in the 2025 tax law, in an amendment vote that failed 50 to 50. He voted to take back $1.1 billion from public broadcasting. He voted to confirm Linda McMahon, whose department cut its staff from 4,133 employees to 2,183 and canceled grants for Alaska Native students.
Did Dan Sullivan vote for school vouchers?
Yes. Dan Sullivan voted against removing the private-school scholarship tax credit from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on July 1, 2025, and the amendment failed 50 to 50. He then voted for the bill, which passed 50 to 50 with the Vice President's vote. The credit has no national cap, and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found the final law discards the budgetary safeguard included in the House version.
How did Dan Sullivan vote on cuts to PBS, NPR and Alaska public radio?
Dan Sullivan voted for the July 2025 Rescissions Act, which passed 51 to 48, and against an amendment to remove the public broadcasting cut. The Ready to Learn grant behind PBS Kids programs had already been canceled, and the grants have helped fund such shows as Molly of Denali.
Did Dan Sullivan vote to confirm Education Secretary Linda McMahon?
Yes. Dan Sullivan voted to confirm Linda McMahon on March 3, 2025, and she was confirmed 51 to 45. In a Quinnipiac poll that month, 60% of voters oppose such plans, while 33% support closing the Education Department, according to NewsNation's report of the poll.
Last updated: 2026-10-25