In any other era, the deployment of federal troops into American cities without state consent would provoke outrage from both parties. Today, it draws silence from Alaska’s senators. Their inaction makes them enablers of a constitutional crisis. By refusing to defend checks and balances, Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan embolden a president who believes he is the law.
As America edges closer to authoritarian rule, Murkowski and Sullivan remain silent. Their failure to respond to the most direct assault on democracy in generations is glaring. No statements of concern, no calls for investigation, no votes of resistance, only silence. Measured against the gravity of this moment, their inaction is an act of cowardice.
In recent weeks, President Trump has taken unmistakable steps toward consolidating personal power. He deployed National Guard troops into Democratic-led cities such as Chicago over the objections of governors, asserting authority to override state control. He threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to defy court rulings that limit his reach. When questioned about these actions, adviser Stephen Miller claimed the president possesses “plenary authority” to use the military as he pleases. Those words, plenary authority, belong to the vocabulary of dictatorship. They imply absolute power unchecked by law.
Some conservative judges have resisted. A Trump-appointed federal judge blocked the deployment of federal forces in Oregon, warning that the Constitution restricts the president’s use of the military for domestic policing. Yet Trump remains defiant, insisting that his authority cannot be questioned. His contempt for judicial restraint and disregard for Congress reveal a president who seeks dominance, not governance.
These actions are not isolated. They form part of a consistent pattern. Trump’s purge of inspectors general dismantled independent oversight. He diverted funds without congressional approval and embraced the Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025,” a plan to consolidate executive control and dismantle regulatory safeguards. Each act erodes the constitutional framework that protects the republic. Together, they mark a deliberate march toward autocracy.
Throughout this alarming sequence, Murkowski and Sullivan have done nothing. Neither has condemned Trump’s threat to invoke the Insurrection Act or Miller’s assertion of limitless presidential power. Their silence is consent. Once again, both have chosen party loyalty over constitutional responsibility.
Murkowski, once praised for independence, has reversed course. She supported a Republican spending bill that included no protections against Trump’s expanding executive reach. Sullivan went further, endorsing Trump’s use of troops in Chicago under the guise of public safety, ignoring the constitutional implications. Neither senator has called for hearings, oversight, or accountability. They watch, they nod, and they retreat into frozen silence.
Their misplaced priorities underscore their failure of leadership. While democracy frays, they focus not on preserving the rule of law but on dismantling the Affordable Care Act. They continue to support Trump’s efforts to strip health care protections from millions, including thousands of Alaskans. Their deciding votes for the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” extended tax breaks for the wealthy while cutting Medicaid and food programs essential to Alaskan working families.
Even on transparency, Murkowski and Sullivan choose concealment. Both voted with Republicans to block release of the Epstein files, citing procedural excuses. Their instinct to protect power rather than expose it mirrors their refusal to confront Trump. When accountability threatens the powerful, they fall silent.
Trump’s conduct is no longer ordinary politics. It is the calculated erosion of democracy. His rhetoric and policies show contempt for the judiciary, hostility toward a free press, and admiration for authoritarian rulers. His advisers now normalize the language of emergency powers and permanent authority. The nation is being conditioned to accept rule by decree.
Murkowski and Sullivan’s silence is not neutrality. It is complicity. When they fail to condemn Trump’s threats to invoke the Insurrection Act or his assertion of unlimited executive power, they endorse both. When they place partisan interests above constitutional duty, they abandon their oaths.
History does not forget silence in the face of betrayal. It will remember who upheld the Constitution and who watched its unraveling from the shadows. Murkowski and Sullivan have shown the measure of their leadership, and voters will render their verdict.
Van Abbott is a long time resident of Alaska. He has held management positions in government organizations in Ketchikan, Fairbanks, and Anchorage. He served in the Peace Corps in the late sixties as a teacher.
