On January 24, 2025, Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan cast one of the 50 votes to confirm Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense, whose department declared transgender service members incompatible with military service and began discharging them, although 58 percent of Americans supported letting them serve in a Gallup poll. Sullivan voted to confirm Mehmet Oz, whose agency in August 2026 barred federal Medicaid and CHIP payment for gender-affirming care for young people, a rule KFF says hits hardest in states without their own ban, such as Alaska.
Sullivan also voted to confirm Pam Bondi, whose Justice Department subpoenaed doctors and clinics that treat transgender youth; Doug Collins, whose VA phased out gender-affirming care for veterans; and Scott Kupor, whose personnel office dropped coverage of that care for federal workers' families. On July 1, 2025, he cast one of the 50 votes for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, whose Medicaid cuts fall on LGBTQ+ adults, who are twice as likely as others to rely on Medicaid.
Dan Sullivan's Confirmation Votes Behind the Rollback of LGBTQ Protections
- Sullivan Cast the Deciding Vote to Confirm Pete Hegseth, Whose Pentagon Is Discharging Transgender Troops. On January 24, 2025, Dan Sullivan voted to confirm Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense. The vote was 50 to 50 and the Vice President broke the tie, so Hegseth would not have been confirmed without Sullivan's vote. Hegseth's Pentagon said people with gender dysphoria are "incompatible" with U.S. military service, Alaska Public Media reported, and since the Supreme Court let the policy take effect in May 2025, Transgender service members once again face discharge, and new recruits are turned away, according to Lambda Legal. About 1,000 troops who previously self-identified now have to leave the military, Straight Arrow News reported. In a Gallup poll, 58% of respondents said they support admitting openly transgender women and men into the U.S. military.
- Sullivan Voted to Confirm Mehmet Oz, Whose Agency Ended Federal Medicaid Coverage of Gender-Affirming Care for Young People. On April 3, 2025, Sullivan voted to confirm Mehmet Oz as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; he was confirmed 53 to 45. On August 11, 2026, Oz's agency issued a final rule barring federal Medicaid and CHIP money for puberty blockers, hormones and surgery for minors. KFF found there are about 130,000 young trans people with Medicaid or CHIP coverage in states without their own restrictions, that The rule’s impact would be most significantly felt in states without a ban, and that dozens of providers have ceased to offer services. Among public comments, more than 90% were in opposition to the policy change. An earlier rule from the same agency said insurers are prohibited from covering gender affirming care as an essential health benefit under the Affordable Care Act.
- Sullivan Voted to Confirm Pam Bondi, Whose Justice Department Subpoenaed Doctors Who Treat Transgender Youth. On February 4, 2025, Sullivan voted to confirm Pam Bondi as attorney general; she was confirmed 54 to 46. In July 2025 her department issued more than 20 subpoenas to doctors and clinics providing young people with gender-affirming care, and KFF found that at least 40 health care institutions have walked back the provision of gender-affirming care as federal pressure grew.
- Sullivan Voted to Confirm the VA Secretary and Personnel Chief Who Ended Gender-Affirming Care for Veterans and Federal Families. Sullivan voted to confirm Doug Collins as secretary of veterans affairs on February 4, 2025 and Scott Kupor as director of the Office of Personnel Management on July 9, 2025. In March 2025 the VA announced that it would phase out providing gender affirming care, except for hormones already under way. Kupor's office dropped coverage of the care from federal employee health plans for 2026, and for 2027 carriers must remove any exceptions process for people already in treatment, KFF reported.
- Sullivan Voted to Confirm the Secretary of State Whose Passports Now Show Sex at Birth. On January 20, 2025, Sullivan voted to confirm Marco Rubio as secretary of state, and he was confirmed 99 to 0. After the Supreme Court granted a request from the Trump administration to enforce its passport policy in November 2025, transgender Americans must carry passports showing their sex at birth; one plaintiff said she was forcibly outed every time I used my passport, according to the ACLU.
- Sullivan Cast One of the 50 Votes for Medicaid Cuts That Fall Hardest on LGBTQ+ Adults and People With HIV. On July 1, 2025, Sullivan voted yes on H.R. 1, which passed 50 to 50 with the Vice President's vote and cuts federal Medicaid spending through work requirements and eligibility checks. LGBTQ+ adults are twice as likely as non-LGBTQ+ adults to use Medicaid as their main insurance, and Medicaid is also the primary insurance for Americans living with HIV, according to them, citing the Williams Institute.
What the LGBTQ Policies Dan Sullivan Enabled Mean for Alaskans
- Young Alaskans on Medicaid. Alaska does not ban gender-affirming care for minors; the Movement Advancement Project's state list shows no ban for Alaska. That puts Alaska among the states where KFF says The rule’s impact would be most significantly felt in states without a ban, because young Alaskans on Medicaid can no longer receive this care with federal Medicaid money.
- Service members in Alaska. The Pentagon's policy that gender dysphoria is incompatible with U.S. military service, reported by Alaska Public Media, applies to transgender service members stationed in Alaska as everywhere else.
Frequently Asked Questions About Dan Sullivan on LGBTQ rights
What is Dan Sullivan's record on LGBTQ rights under Trump?
Dan Sullivan cast the deciding vote to confirm Pete Hegseth, whose Pentagon is discharging transgender troops, and voted to confirm Mehmet Oz, whose agency ended federal Medicaid payment for gender-affirming care for young people. He voted to confirm Pam Bondi, Doug Collins and Scott Kupor, whose agencies subpoenaed providers and ended the care for veterans and federal workers' families. He also voted for the 2025 law whose Medicaid cuts fall on LGBTQ+ adults.
Did Dan Sullivan vote for the transgender military ban?
There was no Senate vote on the ban itself, but Dan Sullivan cast the deciding vote to confirm Pete Hegseth, whose department carries it out, on a 50 to 50 vote broken by the Vice President. About 1,000 troops who had identified as transgender must leave, Straight Arrow News reported.
Can transgender young people in Alaska get gender-affirming care through Medicaid?
Not with federal Medicaid money: Dan Sullivan voted to confirm Mehmet Oz, whose agency's August 2026 rule bars federal Medicaid and CHIP payment for that care for minors. Alaska has no state ban, so the rule's effect is largest in states like it, KFF found, and dozens of providers have ceased to offer services.
Last updated: 2026-10-25