On April 30, 2025, Dan Sullivan voted against ending the emergency behind the global tariffs, and the resolution was defeated 49 to 49, so his vote kept the tariffs in place. The plaintiffs who later won the Supreme Court case against those tariffs were two small businesses, and the Federal Reserve found more than four in 10 firms reported that increased costs associated with tariffs were a financial challenge. The tariffs have cost Alaska $115 million since January 2025, according to tariffs.org.
In March 2025 Sullivan voted to repeal a limit on big-bank overdraft fees that the consumer bureau estimated would save $225 per household that pays overdraft fees, and in July he cast one of the 50 votes for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, whose small-business stock tax break sends 94 percent of the exclusion goes to households with annual income over $1 million.
Dan Sullivan's Votes and Confirmations on Small Business, Banks and Competition
- Sullivan Cast a Deciding Vote to Keep the Global Tariffs on Small Importers in April 2025. On April 30, 2025, Dan Sullivan voted no on S.J.Res. 49, ending the emergency behind the global tariffs; it was defeated 49 to 49, so a yes vote from Sullivan would have passed it. In April 2025 he also voted against ending the Canada tariff emergency (roll call 160). Two small businesses later won the Supreme Court case, which held that IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs, but full refunds are going only to importers that sued, as a trade court order confirmed: Only Importers That Have Sued Will Get Full IEEPA Tariff Refunds. In the Federal Reserve's 2026 survey, more than four in 10 firms reported that increased costs associated with tariffs were a financial challenge.
- Sullivan Voted to Repeal a Limit on Big-Bank Overdraft Fees in March 2025. On March 27, 2025, Sullivan voted yes on S.J.Res. 18, disapproving the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's rule on overdraft lending by very large banks; it passed 52 to 48. The bureau had estimated the rule would save up to $5 billion a year, or $225 per household that pays overdraft fees.
- Sullivan Voted Against Keeping the Consumer Bureau's Funding in June 2025. On June 30, 2025, Sullivan voted no on a motion to strike the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's cut to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding cap; it failed 47 to 53. The cut lowered the cap to roughly $446 million for fiscal 2025, about half the old formula's amount.
- Sullivan Cast One of the 50 Votes for a Small Business Tax Break That Mostly Goes to Millionaires. On July 1, 2025, Sullivan voted yes on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed 50 to 50 with the Vice President's vote and expanded the qualified small business stock exclusion in Public Law 119-21. ITEP found that 94 percent of the exclusion goes to households with annual income over $1 million and that states following the federal rule will lose $710 million in 2026, rising to $1.2 billion in 2031. The law also will eliminate de minimis availability from July 2027, ending the duty-free channel small online sellers used for goods of $800 or less.
- Sullivan Voted to Confirm Officials Who Dropped Cases Against Corporations. Sullivan voted to confirm Russell Vought as budget director on February 6, 2025; Vought then also ran the consumer bureau, and CyberScoop reported a notice issued by Russell Vought, acting director of the agency. He voted to confirm Abigail Slater as head of the Justice Department's antitrust division on March 11, 2025. Public Citizen counts enforcement actions halted or canceled against more than 200 corporations under the administration.
- Sullivan Voted to Confirm the Agriculture Secretary Who Canceled $1 Billion for Small Farms' Local Sales. On February 13, 2025, Sullivan voted to confirm Brooke Rollins as secretary of agriculture. In March 2025 Rollins cancelled about $1 billion of funding to the LFPA program and a companion school program that bought food from local farms, and farmers had to scramble to find new buyers for crops already planted, Civil Eats reported.
What the Tariff and Consumer Decisions Dan Sullivan Backed Cost Alaska
- Tariff costs. The executive tariffs have cost Alaska $115 million since January 2025, and that's equivalent to $420 per Alaska household, according to tariffs.org.
- Shipping costs. Alaska Marine Lines, which carries freight for Alaska businesses, said its fuel related surcharge will increase from 11 to 18.5 percent in April 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions About Dan Sullivan on Small businesses and competition
What is Dan Sullivan's record on small businesses and competition under Trump?
Dan Sullivan voted to repeal the overdraft fee rule and against keeping the consumer bureau's funding cap, and voted for a tax law whose small-business stock break sends 94 percent of its benefit to households earning over $1 million. He cast a deciding vote to keep the global tariffs in place, which small businesses later beat in the Supreme Court.
Did Dan Sullivan vote to keep Trump's tariffs?
Yes. Dan Sullivan voted against ending the global tariff emergency on April 30, 2025, and it was defeated 49 to 49. Importers that did not sue now have a harder path to refunds, since only importers that have sued will get full IEEPA tariff refunds.
Do small businesses get refunds for the tariffs the Supreme Court struck down?
Dan Sullivan voted to keep the tariffs that the Supreme Court later ruled were not authorized, and refunds are going in full only to importers that went to court, according to a Holland & Knight analysis of the trade court's order. The de minimis exemption for small packages also remains suspended after the trade court declined to overturn the president's suspension in August 2026.
Last updated: 2026-10-25