Everybody’s talking about it.
“It’s no secret that there is a possibility that Governor Dunleavy may become the next secretary of the Interior or possibly Energy secretary under the Trump administration,” said Sen. Shelley Hughes, R-Palmer, who’s been close with the governor.
Though nothing has been confirmed, the rumor mill is churning. Hughes is one of many lawmakers and other Alaskans speculating that Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy may leave the governorship for Washington, D.C.
The publication NOTUS, citing three anonymous sources, reported Monday that Dunleavy has spoken with the Trump transition team about a possible job as Interior secretary, adding to the pile of rumors about his possible new position.
The rumors reached a fever pitch Tuesday night, when Dunleavy teased an “announcement” that he would deliver to Alaskans via livestream alongside Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom. Hundreds of people commented on the post, many guessing his announcement was an appointment, some even sending their congratulations.
“For an Alaskan governor to hold a seat in the Trump cabinet would mean amazing things for the State!” one commenter said.
But then, about 90 minutes later, Dunleavy announced that there would be no livestream after all.
It’s unclear what Dunleavy planned to announce. His communications director said he did not know what the governor planned to say.
The Trump transition team isn’t saying anything either. Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson, declined to confirm or deny that Dunleavy had spoken with the incoming administration about a potential job.
“President-Elect Trump is making decisions on who will serve in his second Administration. Those decisions will be announced when they are made,” she said.
Dunleavy is not the only person on the proverbial shortlist for Interior. Politico has floated another oil-state chief executive — Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota. Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin is also under consideration, according to NOTUS. Or maybe, per Politico, Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis or Katharine MacGregor, who served as the Interior Department’s No. 2 under Trump. Or heck, maybe the Trump administration’s most recent Interior secretary, David Bernhardt.
Trump and Dunleavy over the years
One thing is certainly true: Trump and Dunleavy have a long history. Dunleavy endorsed Trump’s reelection bid back in August 2023. Dunleavy sat near Trump at the Republican National Convention. He had box seats for Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally just last month.
His administration even filed to overturn the results in four key states in the chaotic post-election period back in 2020.
On Friday, Dunleavy shared a video of Trump extolling the job he’s done as governor and promising more work on resource development.
“Thank you to everyone in Alaska, and thank you to your great governor,” Trump said. “We’re going to work together just like we have in the past. It was a very special relationship. Mike, thank you very much. I look forward to a long and enduring future relationship.”
And Dunleavy isn’t exactly closing the door — or even trying very hard to make it look like the door is closed.
“Will there be discussions on potential positions in Washington? There may be,” Dunleavy told Alaska’s News Source the day after Election Day, the only interview he’s given since the election.
Dunleavy’s office has declined to comment further on the possibility he will join the Trump administration, only pointing reporters to the Alaska’s News Source interview.
“I’ve got two years left in my term, and I love this state,” he told reporter Steve Kirch during that interview. “My biggest focus, my biggest concern, on what is best for Alaska, how I can help Alaska.”
What it could mean for Alaska’s federal public lands
Alaska Oil and Gas Association President and CEO Kara Moriarty said Trump’s election was “good news for Alaska,” saying she expected the president-elect’s administration to believe resource development “should be done and can be done with strong oversight.”
Moriarty said Dunleavy shared Trump’s values on the subject.
“The governor has never been shy about believing that oil and gas is really important to Alaska’s economy,” she said.
In the Alaska’s News Source interview, Dunleavy pitched a policy agenda for the state that he hoped the Trump administration would accomplish — things firmly within the policy portfolio of an Interior secretary, like opening opportunities for oil and gas drilling in areas that are currently off-limits.
In particular, Dunleavy said he hoped the Trump administration would remove Biden-era rules limiting oil and gas drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, restrictions that are now facing legal challenges from the oil and gas industry.
“I think on federal land, that is, you know, top of the list,” Moriarty said.
Though the Biden administration allowed an early phase of ConocoPhillips’ Willow project to go forward, the president also issued rules severely limiting development on 13 million acres of the NPR-A in the western Arctic.
In addition to the NPR-A, “close right behind is the 1002 Area,” Moriarty said, referring to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain. The federal government is required to hold two lease sales within the 1002 area thanks to the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The Biden administration recently announced plans for a new lease sale on the coastal plain that would be subject to severe environmental restrictions aimed at protecting wildlife and other resources.
Dunleavy also said he hoped the Trump administration would act on another of his longtime priorities: removing restrictions that limit development in the 17-million-acre Tongass National Forest, the nation’s largest national forest and the largest remaining temperate rainforest in the world.
The first Trump administration rolled back the so-called Roadless Rule in 2020; the Biden administration reimposed it last year.
Dunleavy also said he hoped the federal government would greenlight a road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge connecting the communities of King Cove and Cold Bay.
The Fish and Wildlife Service announced Wednesday that it would take comments on an environmental review recommending that a land swap allowing the road to be built be allowed to go forward.
Dunleavy’s priorities have drawn criticism from conservation groups.
“Governor Dunleavy has attempted over the last six years to turn Alaska’s world class public lands and wildlife into a garbage dump,” said Cooper Freeman, the Alaska director for the Center for Biological Diversity. “As an Interior secretary, we would bet that it would be an all-out onslaught on wild nature and biodiversity, and we would be careening towards complete climate catastrophe under his watch.”
State lawmakers weigh in
State lawmakers are split on the prospect of Dunleavy ascending to the Interior Department or another Trump administration post.
Rep. Will Stapp, R-Fairbanks, said Dunleavy moving to the Interior Department would be a boon for the state.
“I think anyone, you know, any person who’s been in Alaska government would probably make a good Interior secretary,” he said, “because most of the issues that Alaska face are kind of federal land management issues [and] permitting issues.”
State Senate majority leader Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, was less enthused about Dunleavy possibly leaving the governor’s mansion for Washington, D.C.
“It’s disappointing to me, just because I’m a lifelong Alaskan, and this really is my priority,” she said. “But we’ll see what happens.”
Dunleavy would not be the first Alaska governor to serve as Interior secretary. Wally Hickel departed during his first term to serve in the position under then-President Richard Nixon.
Dunleavy’s second term isn’t over until December 2026. If he resigned from the job before then, Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom would take over as the state’s chief executive.
Dahlstrom is a former legislator and former commissioner of the Alaska Department of Corrections who Trump endorsed during this year’s U.S. House race. She later dropped out of the race after placing third in the primary election.
Eric Stone covers state government, tracking the Alaska Legislature, state policy and its impact on all Alaskans. Reach him at estone@alaskapublic.org and follow him on X at @eriwinsto. Read more about Eric here.
