Fear and Uncertainty’: Murkowski Opens Up to Alaska Nonprofits About Federal Turmoil

Senator Murkowski Speaks Out About Fear, Cuts, and Uncertainty

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski recently spoke to a group of nonprofit leaders in Alaska about how worried many people are because of recent changes made by the Trump administration. These changes include new tariffs (extra taxes on goods), executive orders, legal fights, and major cuts to federal programs that help people.

“We are all afraid,” Murkowski said seriously. She admitted that even she feels nervous about speaking up, because she worries about being punished for it — something she says should not happen.

Murkowski spoke for 45 minutes with Laurie Wolf, the head of The Foraker Group, during a large nonprofit conference in Anchorage. Most of the conversation focused on how confused and unsure people feel, especially those who work in public service, nonprofits, and programs that help vulnerable communities.

“It’s hard to keep up,” Murkowski said. “Just when we start to make progress on one problem, another one pops up.”

She was honest about her concerns with how the Trump administration is handling many things. She described it as chaotic and said that some actions might even be illegal. She and her staff are constantly trying to figure out whether certain programs are being changed or shut down — and how to protect Alaskans if they are.

Murkowski said the hardest part is hearing about possible cuts to Medicaid, food stamps (SNAP), and the National Endowment for the Humanities. These programs are very important in Alaska. She also said it’s worrying how much the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has been reduced, and how the government might stop helping Ukrainian refugees come to the U.S.

When she heard that AmeriCorps might be shut down, she texted one of Trump’s top staff members, Susie Wiles, to share her concerns — but she’s not sure how much influence she really has.

She also joked about how confusing it all is, saying that with the new "Department of Government Efficiency" — which she called “DOGE” — no one really knows what’s going on.

The audience clapped several times during her talk, especially when she criticized plans to make big cuts to Medicaid. She said hurting health care for Alaskans is not something she can support. Some Republicans, she said, are starting to agree that Medicaid should be protected.

Murkowski is open to making changes to Medicaid, like adding work requirements, but only if those changes don’t hurt Alaskans.

She also said that Trump’s team has sometimes refused to spend money that Congress already approved, which she believes is illegal. Congress, she said, needs to take back some of its power and stop letting the president act alone.

She’s also worried that people are starting to see the courts as political — and that’s dangerous because it weakens trust in the law.

Murkowski encouraged Alaskans to speak up and protest peacefully for the programs they care about. “Don’t let the chaos wear you down,” she said.

She also talked about the impact of recent tariffs, especially with China. These new taxes are raising the prices of things like home goods and equipment. This is bad news for industries like mining and fishing. Alaska sends a lot of seafood to China and gets some back, so these changes could really hurt the fishing business.

She also warned that if NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) faces more cuts, it could lead to bad decisions about how much fish people can catch. Without enough data, managers might lower quotas to be safe — which means less fishing — or allow too much fishing, which could harm the environment.

Murkowski will continue meeting with people across Alaska this week, including speaking at a fishing trade show in Kodiak and an Arctic investment event in Nome.

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