Sen. Dan Sullivan is out of the basement. His staff announced today that they’ve moved to their new office location in the nation’s capital. Their new suite is on the 7th floor of the Hart Building, just down the hall and around the corner from Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
The move means Sullivan and his staff leave behind their temporary rooms, off a basement tunnel between the Hart and Dirksen office buildings. The move took five months, because in the Senate, office choice depends on seniority. Sullivan, as a freshman who hadn’t held an elected position before, has the lowest seniority, No. 100 out of a hundred. That meant he had to wait for the outgoing lawmakers to pack up and leave. Then he had to wait out a series of other moves as, rung by rung, higher-ranking senators upgraded.
The new Sullivan offices have freshly painted slate-blue walls, new carpet and very high ceilings. The senator’s actual office is spacious, with its own balcony. It overlooks the historic Thompson-Markward Hall, a ladies’ dorm dedicated by Eleanor Roosevelt.
Anderson says the best thing about the new office is they have more room. Sullivan plans to hire additional aides to round out the staff, now that they have enough desk space for everybody.
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.
