U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said the Trump administration needs to realize federal employees are operating programs that “truly are saving lives” and there needs to be support for agencies “that Americans are relying on for livelihoods and for safety.”

“Weather forecasters save lives in our state,” Murkowski said during her annual speech to a joint session of the Alaska Legislature on Tuesday. Furthermore, “public servants are not our enemies.”

Murkowski is notably one of the few congressional Republicans openly critical of President Donald Trump. In her speech, she spoke of fear among federal workers and the people relying on their services. She said fear is also resulting from economic and international instability.

Alaska’s senior senator also defended many of the president’s policies and stated she agrees with the intentions, even if she disapproves of some methods used to achieve his goals.

“There are many areas where I agree with the president,” she said. “I agree strongly we need to secure our borders. We need to stop the flow of fentanyl into our country. Our trade relationships are not always fair. The war in Ukraine does need to end.”

Murkowski said that Ukraine must be at the table when peace terms are negotiated, and the resolution cannot be one that is “favorable to Russia at Ukraine’s expense, not when you have a situation where — again — it was Russia who invaded Ukraine.”

She added that how America has made enemies with Canada and friends with Russia is “beyond” her.

Murkowski, echoing a frequent theme during her 22 years in the Senate, said she is attempting — and in some cases succeeding — to resolve specific issues of concern that arise or are brought to her attention by constituents. She acknowledged a letter sent to her by State Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau; Rep. Sara Hannan, D-Juneau; and Rep. Andi Story, D-Juneau, about the local impacts of mass federal employee firings.

She said she plans to keep walking a political tightrope, even though Trump is acting in unprecedented ways, because she believes it is the most effective way to resolve the challenges that matter most.

“I have to work with people that I didn’t vote for,” she said. “I have to work with people that I don’t have as good a bond or connection with because that’s what Alaskans have asked me to do. They’ve asked me to do some really, really hard things. And this is about as hard as it’s ever gotten because I’ve never seen Alaskans that are so worried, that are so panicked, there’s so much coming at them.”

Federal uncertainty fuels additional flood fears

In the American Relief Act of 2025, Murkowski and U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, included disaster relief funding with a specific provision supporting Juneau’s flood mitigation efforts.

The legislation directed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to initiate a general investigation for high-priority studies of projects “including glacial lake outburst flooding.”

A feasibility study is what the City and Borough of Juneau needs to find an alternative to build a mitigation method for future glacial outburst flood events. But Deputy City Manager Robert Barr emphasized the unpredictability of executive orders and current documentation from the Trump administration has the city worried about the future of the National Flood Insurance Program.

“We did get some good news on Friday where $4.75 million was allocated to the Army Corps,” he said. “It’ll allow us to start doing preliminary technical studies that will hopefully eventually inform a true feasibility study.”

Murkowski said while she sees the need for reforming agencies, she is concerned about the possible elimination of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“When it comes to disasters that impact communities where property is lost and damaged and lives are lost, I think there’s a recognition that our federal government has a role,” she said in an interview following her floor speech on Tuesday. “It’s not just left to the communities to try to figure out how you’re going to pick up the pieces.”

Last August, Murkowski met with Juneau residents picking up pieces of their damaged homes after Suicide Basin’s record-breaking glacial outburst flood.

Questions persist about whether the disaster can be avoided by installing temporary HESCO barriers by summer since experts say a long-term solution is years away.

“Is it going to be worse? Is it going to be better? There’s great anxiety,” Murkowski said. “You’ve got these HESCO barriers — that temporary but expensive approach is moving forward. People want to know what a long-term solution is. I had an opportunity to visit just yesterday out at the glacier with a group that are looking at a longer-term solution and wondering about the possibilities for a more expedited process.”

National Weather Service Juneau monitors Suicide Basin along with the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Alaska Southeast. Murkowski said the National Weather Service is essential in Alaska to understand events like atmospheric rivers and the day-to-day weather that informs fishermen’s safety.

Murkowski also met Monday with officials at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center, one of the local sites hit hardest by federal firings, which is facing a mass influx of tourists less than a month from now.

“You’re going to have 4,000 tourists arriving here in Juneau on the first cruise ship,” she said. “Do we really think that one or two people can handle them all at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center?”

More broadly, she said the Forest Service’s Juneau Ranger District fired 31 employees, and 25 are left, putting a range of other Tongass activities and management in question. While the firings of Forest Service and many other federal employees were reversed due to legal challenges, some workers say they haven’t yet received return-to-work notices, and others say they are skeptical about returning only to be fired again.

Murkowski said in her conversations Monday that a federal employee confirmed they had received their promised back pay. However, the uncertainty about the additional rounds of reduction-in-force and now increased workload has led to poor morale.

In her speech to legislators, she said, “I think every single person in this chamber would agree the federal government is too big.” But she argued there is a proper process for streamlining government the Trump administration is ignoring.

“These terminations are indiscriminate, and many we’re now learning are unlawful and they’re being made regardless of performance, and with little understanding of the function and the value of each position,” she said. “So at any human level, they’re traumatizing people, and they’re leaving holes in our communities.”

Senator urges lawmakers to push back against Trump administration

Murkowski’s speech to the Legislature occurred about a month later than usual since the turmoil in Washington, D.C., delayed the first congressional recess of the year until now.

She opened by citing what she considered highlight achievements from the past year, such as securing an icebreaker homeported in Juneau and ensuring the opening of black cod and halibut season on Thursday. She also expressed support for much of Trump’s agenda, including his efforts to boost natural resource industries in Alaska, such as oil, mining and timber.

Her 90-minute appearance before the Legislature was divided evenly between her speech and questions from lawmakers.

Rep. Genevieve Mina, D-Anchorage, asked Murkowski about the impacts on Alaska if Medicaid is cut.

Murkowski said the state is facing a significant budget deficit while attempting to fund education, so it does not need the additional stress of losing federal funding for Medicaid, in which 38% of Alaskans are enrolled. Lawmakers have said it could cost the state well over $1 billion if federal Medicaid funding is lost.

“I do think that what you will see coming out of Washington with the reconciliation process is not so much budget cuts, but it will be budget reforms,” Murkowski said. “What those may look like, I think, is yet to be defined.”

Two questions concerned balance-of-power issues: one about Trump administration officials deporting alleged foreign gang members in defiance of a judge’s order, the other about issuing executive orders that intrude on Congress’ funding and legislative authority.

“Must this battle be fought at the Supreme Court, or can it be fought in the Capitol?” asked Rep. Dan Saddler, an Eagle River Republican. “If so, what are the prospects of a communal effort to rein in some of those powers that have been so creatively utilized?”

Murkowski’s answer was not encouraging about such prospects.

“Is it possible for that for the legislative branch to act on this? Yes,” she said. “Do I see that happening with the current construct? No. I don’t think that you would have the political support to because I think it would be viewed as opposing President Trump. I think it would be viewed as personal towards him and I don’t think that you would have members that would be willing to take that on, even though it would have implications for the strength of our own institution.”

Yet she also asserted to legislators the need to “stand up for the institution of the Congress” when such challenges to their power occur. She declared, “You can be a 100% supporter of the president and still stand up for the institution of the Congress.”

When asked at a press conference after the floor session about seemingly coming down on both sides of that issue and others, Murkowski said, ultimately, she’s guided by what she believes is proper apart from where partisan coalitions may stand.

“I can’t fix everything and, no, I am not going to be in a position and a place where I just take the strategy that I am going to tear down at every opportunity the president of the United States,” she said. “That’s not constructive to the people of Alaska. I’m going to have to figure out where I can work with him, and I’m going to have to stiffen my spine and take the slings and arrows when people say, ‘Why aren’t you a better Republican? And if you’re not, get out of the party.’”

Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz.garrett@juneauempire.com or 907-723-9356. Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or 907-957-2306.