The Foraker Group

Does your organization anticipate a leadership change in the coming months? A smooth transition from one leader to another will keep your organization focused on its mission. We can help you create a process for a successful leadership change by taking a realistic and thoughtful approach. We’ve created FAQs to help you assess if our Leadership Transition services are a fit for your organization. We are also relaunching our community class – Recruiting for the Long-Term: Finding Leaders that Stay – on June 12 from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm. If your organization is looking to be more thoughtful about leadership transition, this class is for you. You can learn more about our Leadership Transition services here.

On July 1, 2025,  the minimum wage will increase to $13 per hour, following the approval of Ballot Measure 1 in 2024. Under this same measure, the minimum wage will continue to rise, reaching $14 per hour in 2026 and $15 per hour in 2027.

Additionally, beginning July 1, 2025, employers who do not already have a paid time off policy that meets the elements of the ballot measure will be required to provide paid sick leave. If an employer has 15 or more employees, each employee can accrue up to 56 hours of paid sick leave per year. If the employer has fewer than 15 employees, each employee can accrue up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year.

In February, we offered a webinar sharing what we knew about Ballot Measure 1 and heard from many of you about concerns about implementation. As a follow-up, we have created an FAQ document with answers to some of your pressing questions. In addition, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development has published FAQs.

Keep in mind that the regulation release and comment period will be coming soon, and there is pending legislation that could impact the implementation of the law. We will share more information as it becomes available.

We Produce Our Own Energy

A portrait poem by Na Mee

(All the words that appear in this poem were heard at some point during The Foraker Group’s 2025 Leadership Summit, April 14 & 15, 2025. They have been lifted out of their specific context and written into this found poem, intended as a group portrait. You can watch the video of the performance here.)

All of the leaders across Alaska
owe at least eight people here an email.
We did our list!
It’s get shit done week
How many hyper achievers are in the room?
                     I don’t need to see hands. I know it’s over half of you

We know you’re wearing many hats.
We’re all spread really thin
Quick start
Troubleshooting
Keeping heritage alive
Activating that community
Tightening up those systems
Making sure everyone gets what they need
Meditating
And leveraging the strengths and talents of our teams across generations

We’re elevating and raising our voices
And focused on listening

Thinking of ideas from many perspectives
And being present

Letting it go where it needs to go
But maybe not too far

Set the agenda, stick to the agenda
We keep that thing on continuous loop these days

It’s head spinning.
Just when you’ve made a little progress on one issue, there’s another.
Reduction, thawing, freezing, releasing
It’s a challenging
Dismantled
Uncomfortable
time

It’s called “against the law”

How do you actually do your job?
Asking for a friend

Tell your friend:
Inhale and exhale.
Remind ourselves that we’re human.
Every once in a while, we need to smell each other.
Acknowledge we’re tired and that it’s OK to be tired.

Take the hard news and sit with it
Unwind
Touch grass
Give yourself a loving hug.
It’s good to feel things.
That is what we are actually designed to do.

Nourish yourself to nourish your organization.
Take the time to be together
Be ready for questions
Questions that bring out the best of us
Stay extra curious and listen

Everything we do
Every person in this room
Our work is emotional

Rugged independence and rugged interdependence
And, inside is a softer part of us
All these pieces
Are where our energy and power is going to be

Collaboration is not just a theme, it’s a way of being.
You get to model.
Thinking about it together
Look for surprising connections

There’s so many iceberg models
This is our iceberg model
Just noticing what’s right in front of us
The power of all of us together
That’s when we might flip the iceberg

From very hyper local to regional to national
We need one another, and in fact, we create each other
What’s the difference that makes the difference?
Our power is our collective power
True inclusion is when we join our communities
Walk together
Building on our intuition, our relationships, our experience

It’s difficult when so many of us are feeling the
Drama and tension

Trust the process!
Sometimes it’s viewed as confrontational,
sometimes it’s viewed as using my mother’s charm
Protest can be a very affirmative word
Honor the hard parts
The magical spaces
Over time, these are in deep synergy

Alaskans:
Hello my people!
We can
Look across the boundaries
Salvage something
Find abundance out of nothing

I need to see a wink or a nod or something 😉

You all know how to help each other,
Rally around each other
We take care of our seniors, we take care of our kids
Our work, ourselves, our family members, our neighbors
Collaboration and cooperation is happening at any time

We love a group chat
We bring cookies
We are not alone
We don’t
wait for batman
We don’t
run from bears

We take care of each other, even when we disagree

We produce our own energy
the energy in the room when we’re talking about our stories

Alaska is in our heart
Anything we can do we will do
We adapt
And we celebrate What we’re going to keep

See ourselves, see each other,
see our community in their fullness and their richness

Your work matters today and it will matter tomorrow
Find the courage
To bring your whole selves
up here to the front

You’re welcome to do it quietly or you’re welcome to do it out loud

Please don’t be shy

There’s no better place to do this than right here, right now

Our Certificate in Nonprofit Management program is designed for Alaska nonprofit and tribal leaders to apply classroom teachings to their workplace, dive into issues facing Alaska nonprofits today, and build a network of fellow professionals. Courses will be held in the fall at the Foraker office in Anchorage. Applications are due June 13. Learn more here.

This conversation between Laurie Wolf (CEO, The Foraker Group) and Senator Lisa Murkowski was held at the 2025 Leadership Summit on April 14, 2025, at the Dena’ina Civic Convention Center in Anchorage, Alaska. The Leadership Summit is a nonprofit leadership conference held every two years by The Foraker Group. You can watch a video of their conversation here. 

Laurie Wolf: We are so incredibly grateful that Senator Murkowski has taken the time to be with all of us today. Just so much gratitude for you and your staff. You’ve been so wonderful taking all of our phone calls, all of our emails, all of our “Oh my goodness, what’s happening next?” moments. Thank you so much. I know you have an amazing staff as well. So an extra shout-out to them.

Senator Murkowski: I am sorry, can I interrupt? How rude is that? She’s giving me a nice introduction. But you mentioned my staff, and I want to give an added shout-out. I have a couple of my staff that are here. Cassidy Hobbs has been working with many of you on many of the issues you’re working on as they relate to healthcare, homelessness, and housing. All matters healthcare, really. Anna Powers, back in Washington, DC, on the Indian Affairs Committee. Grace Kubitz has been doing a lot on the housing side. And many of you have had the opportunity to interact with Emma, infamous Emma, who answers the telephone for me in Washington, DC.

Laurie Wolf: We can’t do it without them, right?

Senator Murkowski: Karina Waller, my state director, has been fielding so much of the incoming [communications] along with our constituent services person, Sherry Edwards. So, thank you for the work that you’ve been doing with them to help educate me. Now we’re going to go to the real stuff. It’s really important to acknowledge the people who have been standing with you through all of this, to all of your staff as well. (applause)

Laurie Wolf: Well, we have prepared a few questions, and we have questions from all of you. So, thank you to all of you who submitted questions. We really appreciate it. We’re going to do our best to get through as many of them as we can, and we’ll have lots of conversations with the Senator after the fact, as well, to help get you good responses.

Welcome home. We’re happy you’re here. So, so much going on. “Head on a swivel” is how I’ve been describing these last many months. Now, can you share with us the issues you’re tracking from the federal funding freeze to the reduction of the workforce and federal employees? What’s happening now? Give us a flavor.

Senator Murkowski: It is head-spinning. It seems that just when you have made a little bit of progress on one issue that has caused such anxiety, there’s yet another one equally important and equally as significant.

So, Laurie, you mentioned the reductions in force. I don’t want to start off with bad news, but we’re not done. Today is April 14th. Usually, we think about April 15th as the day we don’t like. This is going to be a day that we don’t like because we will learn at the close of business today what the broader reduction in force across federal agencies will mean.

I just met with the Army Corps of Engineers today. They are already down remarkably in their numbers. This is the agency that helps us build things in this state. And they don’t know what it’s going to look like tomorrow. So we’re dealing with a reduction in force.

We’re dealing with the freezing of program funds, the thawing, and maybe releasing a little bit in a trickle, or worse, you’re told, yes, we have released it, but no, you’re not seeing the funds. You’re not able to access it. Or maybe you don’t have frozen funds, but there’s nobody at the agency who can help you get through to that next step to gain access to them. So what we’re seeing is really unprecedented in its nature and its scope.

Much of what we’re seeing, in my view, in the way that this is coming about is unlawful. It is being challenged as such. So it’s going through the courts. But if what you’re trying to do is implement a program, if what you’re trying to do is keep women and children safe, if what you’re trying to do is to build out more housing, than that is not very much comfort because lawsuits take a lot of time and they take a fair amount of money. So it is a challenging time for us in Washington, DC.

But in fairness, I can’t imagine how challenging it is for each and every one of you who are dealing with people who are vulnerable, who are dealing with people who are anxious and afraid, and they’re looking to you for answers, and you don’t have them.

So, part of what I have been doing with my team is just trying to listen as carefully as I can to what is happening, how it is happening, and the impacts it is having on the ground.

And we’re honest upfront in saying we don’t have all the answers, but we’re trying to unlock it at different opportunities and in different ways as much as we can. And it is as hard as anything I have been engaged in in the 20-plus years I’ve been in the Senate.

Laurie Wolf: It definitely feels like times none of us have ever lived through. Absolutely. In your town hall, you talked about some really Alaska-specific things that are just so special that we maybe even take for granted here. Things like bypass mail or the way that we work and operate here that you are quite afraid of [losing]. And that was more than six weeks ago, maybe. Can you speak about some of the Alaska-specific things that we should all have on our radar that you’re concerned about?

Senator Murkowski: You mentioned some obvious ones, such as bypass mail, which is an essential air service. Those are very unique to us. For instance, LIHEAP, the low-income housing energy program, is a national program. But it’s important to us in a state where it’s not always as nice as it is today. SNAP is a national program that helps everybody, right? But boy, look at what’s happening in our state in terms of those families who are really constrained right now. Youth homelessness is a problem everywhere. But look at what we’re seeing in our state right now.

So when I think about those programs that are unique to Alaska, so many of them are very national in scope. But the impact on us is that much heightened because we were already operating from a deficit to begin with, a deficit when it comes to childcare, a deficit when it comes to housing for vulnerable women, a deficit when it comes to resources for those who are dealing with levels of addiction, a deficit in housing. So, everything is accentuated when you have cuts, reductions, pauses, or freezes to these federal programs.

I woke up super early this morning, and I was outlining the various programs that I have been stressing over, and the ones that we know have been obliterated, like USAID. The impact that even USAID, which you think of as international in its scope, has implications for us here in Alaska.

But it’s Medicaid. It is SNAP. It’s the National Endowment for the Humanities, and all of the programs under the humanities that we see here. It’s the recent news about the funding and support to our museums and libraries through IMLS. It is, again, what we saw with LIHEAP and energy housing.

I’m operating on rumors a lot of the time. And then you see some things that are just unnerving in their scope, and you realize, well, that rumor was actually real. What’s happening with our refugee resettlement programs to me is very, very disturbing. One of the good things that came out last week was the rumor that the temporary protected status for the Ukrainians who are here [is that] they’re not going to be immediately deported. But you know what? Rumors just don’t come about because somebody has a wild hair going on. There’s something behind it. And so last week, it was they’re going to get rid of AmeriCorps. And so we try to chase that one down. And it’s no, no, no, it’s not going to happen. But I’m worried about things like that. So you need to direct me, Laurie, because I’m going to go off on tangents here.

Laurie Wolf: Did she list all the things that keep you up at night? Because I think that was my list of what keeps me up at night. I can hear you’re not sleeping. I’m for sure not sleeping. Okay.

Senator Murkowski: We haven’t heard about cuts to the NEA yet. It’s coming.

Laurie Wolf: It’s coming.

Senator Murkowski: Look what just happened with NIH.

Laurie Wolf: Yeah. That’s right. Where do these rumors come from? They come from somewhere. But I also am recognizing when we’ve come and had real honest conversations with your staff, who are so great to say, “I don’t know.” Right? And that’s real. You don’t actually know. So can you speak to that a little bit? How is it that our members of Congress don’t know what’s happening? What should we know about as we begin to formulate our own response? What is a good response when our own leaders don’t know?

Senator Murkowski: Well, I’ll give you a little bit of a vignette. About a month or so ago, the President’s Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles, came to our Republican lunch, and there were a lot of questions at the time. The VA was seeing a significant reduction in their numbers. And a member raised a question to the Chief of Staff. And she said, “Look, sometimes these decisions are being made. They’re coming from DOGE. They happen, they’re implemented. And we don’t even know what has happened on the ground. And so when you hear about these things, send them to me.” And I’m thinking, wow, send them to the President’s Chief of Staff. She said that.

So, this week, when I heard that AmeriCorps could potentially be going the way of USAID, I sent a text to the President’s Chief of Staff and said, “Hey, is this true?” And she says, “Thank you for bringing it to my attention. We’re tracking this.” I don’t know whether that has taken things to a better place. I have no idea.

But I share this with you not to say that we don’t know anything, but I’m suggesting that things are happening so fast through the efforts of this Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE. You read a lot about it, but none of us understands the half of it. And again, sometimes we’re only getting a part of the story. And so to really try to understand the full picture, it’s literally piecing it together. It’s talking to people who have just gotten that notice of termination, who have been in the room, if you will. So we’ve been asking for you to share the stories. Because I think that actually helps us in trying to track down if there is something that we can do to fix this. And we have been successful in fixing some things, whether it’s getting the IFQ quotas out in time, whether it’s getting folks to peel back some things. These are important, but we’re not operating with advanced information on much of anything.

Laurie Wolf: Right. And this is why all of you right here, why we’re asking you to stay in touch with us, too, because we’re directly funneling all the information you give us. We’re also trying to figure it out before we give it to your staff. And it’s going to take all of us. I hope that’s the big message coming out of this room today: that it will take all of us to move these conversations forward, because we are all picking up little pieces of information. Maybe you got an email or a letter or something, and then that, you know, connects the dots to something else.

Senator Murkowski: Laurie, on that, if I can ask you, you all have networks, you’ve got networks within the state. And many, many of you have networks within a broader region or nationally. Make sure that you are connecting with these networks as well, because one of the things that we’ve been doing in order to get the attention of the administration is that we’ve been working together on bipartisan letters. So we did one, for instance, on LIHEAP. We did one on IMLS, we did one on representation for minors, immigrant minors. But those bipartisan letters don’t come about unless other members are hearing from people in their states, their communities, that these are priorities. So use that to help us elevate this to the administration.

Laurie Wolf: Let’s turn our attention to Medicaid and Medicare, shall we? And Social Security is in there, too. So, you know, [there are] lots of big concerns and impacts for all of us, right? Either directly through our work, ourselves personally, or our family members. Speak a little bit about what the right approach is at this moment around advocacy. What is it that we can do in this room? What would be a call to action, if you will? What feels less like shouting into the wind and something more effective?

Senator Murkowski: I think, particularly with Medicaid, and knowing that Medicaid continues to be one of those attention-getters. When you’re looking at where in this country we are seeing those federal costs increase. It’s on the Medicaid side. And so you have a target on that, if you will. And particularly as we are moving into this budget process called reconciliation, where there is an effort to make cuts and, not just cuts, but significant cuts to Medicaid. So, for us in Alaska, I don’t need to explain it to you. You know, you know, the significance of Medicaid throughout all of our communities, all of our populations. When you think about Alaska’s kids, over 40% [use Medicaid], the number of seniors that are on Medicaid, I mean, this is very real. This is very significant to us. The cuts that the House was particularly speaking about could not only be detrimental but could be devastating, just devastating to our programs. So I’ve made very, very clear that this is a nonstarter for me. We cannot absorb Medicaid cuts like we’re talking about. (applause)

And I’ve said it cannot hurt Alaskans. And I think what we have now started to see is more members that are saying, yes, we can’t have Medicaid cuts that hurt West Virginians or people from Missouri. And so there is a growing number of Republicans, which needs to happen, who are saying Medicaid is off the table. Senator Sullivan was there with us in making sure that Medicaid needs to be viewed very, very carefully. And I want to make sure you understand what I say by that.

There are aspects of Medicaid that we could look to for reform. There are aspects of that program that we can look to, and it’s not going to hurt Alaskans. I’ll give you one example. There’s something called a Medicare provider tax. In almost all states, with the exception of Alaska, providers are able to get some of their costs covered through Medicaid. So they’re made more whole. We didn’t implement it. That’s a bad explanation of it. Cassidy’s raising her hand, scratching her head, and saying, “It’s not quite that way, boss,” but leave it at this. It’s about $170 billion in savings that could be had if we were to eliminate that. To me, that’s a real savings. It doesn’t hurt Alaskans.

And so I’m not saying you cannot touch Medicaid at all. There’s going to be a lot of discussion on Medicaid work requirements. We’ve had this discussion before. Is there room for discussion? Further? I think there is. But what we need to make very clear is that people understand that in Alaska, it’s a little bit different. It’s going to be a little bit different if you’re out in a rural area where you don’t have the opportunity for jobs unless you move into the city, or if you are the full-time caregiver for someone in your family, you know. These are considerations that I think need to be taken into account. And so when you’re talking about work requirements, having some level of flexibility that is directed by states as opposed to a national level.

So these are some of the things that I think you’re going to hear about. What I hope we’re moving away from is an $880 billion cut to Medicaid, because if that happens, this is a very, very, very different state, and one where I don’t think that the Alaska population can be safe from.

Laurie Wolf: My understanding is that it impacts everybody’s insurance, right? There’s no Alaskan, regardless of how you voted, [who] would be left untouched by a decision like that. Yeah, absolutely. So given that, what is the [best] way to use our voice? What’s most helpful?

Senator Murkowski: So, it’s going to sound crazy coming from an elected official, but I’m going to continue to urge you to raise your voices. Protest can be a negative word, and protest can be a very affirmative word. And I think Alaskans need to be affirmative in saying why they support Medicaid, why they support our Humanities, why they support the federal underpinnings for so many of our social safety nets. I think they need to elevate and raise their voices. And in a way that is respectful.

But I’m almost afraid. I’m almost afraid that people are getting so anxious and so overwhelmed by what they’re continuing to see, news cycle after news cycle, where there’s just seemingly more, that they’re just going to start to check out. And they’re just going to say, “I can’t handle it anymore. I just can’t handle it anymore.” And their voices are going to get quieter. And people in Washington, D.C., people in the administration are going to say, well, I guess everybody’s doing okay, when not everybody is doing okay. And so I’m going to urge people to continue to be engaged.

I look around this room and I see a lot of friends. I see a lot of people that I call my friends. I see a lot of folks who I have seen in my office over the years. And I’m not suggesting that now is the time to take the hard-earned dollars or the dollars that you get from your donors and spend them on a fly-in back to Washington, D.C. Because, quite honestly, it’s the people here on the ground who need you and need that travel money more than a trip to Washington to petition your members of Congress. But you can elevate your voices here and continue to reinforce that this must be a priority. So keep calling, keep the emails, keep the social media going.

Laurie Wolf: People are filling your offices, aren’t they?

Senator Murkowski: People are still in my offices, and we still welcome them in our offices. But I think it’s important that the concerns continue to be raised rather than allow the fatigue of the chaos to grind you down. Don’t let it grind you down.

Laurie Wolf: I think there’s fatigue, and I also think there’s fear. So let’s take a moment and just address that. I think there’s been an approach that is making people afraid. We have people who don’t normally have access to our data that have access to our data, people who don’t normally have access to our cell phones and our computers, and they have access now.

So, can we take a moment? Not too long. I said at the beginning, this morning, we’re going to hold the hard stuff for as long as we need to, and then we’re going to put it down. But let’s hold it for a minute. Let’s hold some fear that people are afraid. They’re afraid to use their voice. They’re afraid to show up to a protest, even when it’s peaceful. Let’s talk about that for a minute. What do you have to say to people who are afraid or who represent people who are afraid?

Senator Murkowski: We are all afraid. Okay. (long pause) It’s quite a statement. But we are. We’re in it. We’re in a time and a place where I don’t know, I certainly have not, I have not been here before. And I’ll tell you, I’m oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice. Because retaliation is real. And that’s not right.

But that’s what you’ve asked me to do. And so I’m going to use my voice to the best of my ability. And sometimes it will be viewed in a way that, well, that’s pretty confrontational. And other times it’s going to be using my mother’s charm that I learned as a young girl, and in direct communication with those that I have made relationships with, and am able to affect some change that way. But I’ve got to figure out how I can do my best to help the many who are so anxious and so afraid. So I guess I will leave with you that we’re all anxious. You have to measure yourself how you can be most impactful for those that you are serving. But don’t think that you’re the only one who is anxious right now.

Laurie Wolf: Thank you. Well, let’s pivot to you using your voice and talk a little about how you are using that voice to make some headway in the Trump administration. What’s your path? How are you advancing Alaska’s issues? Talk to us a little bit about strategy.

Senator Murkowski: So, strategy has to be multifaceted because everything and everybody is different. I have been collecting a lot of new phone numbers to send texts to very busy people. And whether it is texts to the Secretary of Commerce to educate him about halibut and sablefish, and why permits from the Department of Commerce are necessary to get IFQ. For him, that’s nothing but gobbledygook. So I sent a second text saying, “Have you ever had black cod at a fancy restaurant when it’s soaked in miso? It’s really good.” This is what I’m talking about – he responded instantly after I said that. So some of it is just the personal reach-out.

A great deal of it is through bipartisan efforts where we’re joining hands with colleagues on the other side of the aisle in other states who are equally impacted and working that way.

It is direct intervention with secretaries and many who are lower in the department. Part of our challenge right now is there are so few in the department who are actually filled out. So you have some people who are holdovers, some people who were just part of the transition, some who are brand spanking new and don’t know anything yet. And so it’s been challenging in that way to try to make some headway.

And I think much of it is engagement with colleagues in the House and the Senate to push back in certain areas. And I’ll share with you what I mean by that. When Congress passes a law, like we did with the infrastructure bill, we said these funds are going out in these areas, and then we appropriate the money to them. And that is signed into law. So you have two laws. You have the infrastructure bill that’s signed into law. And then you have the appropriations bill that is signed into law, two bills signed into law. And then you have a new administration come in and say that program that was authorized under IIJA, and that was appropriated under FY24, we’re not going to send that money out. Well, you can’t do that. That’s called against the law. It’s actually a more technical term. (applause)

And so there are ways that you can approach that. Obviously, you can go through the litigation, but it’s also about Congress standing up for the role that we have that is not determined by a president, and it’s not determined by you all. It was determined and laid out in the Constitution. And the Constitution says it’s our responsibility when it comes to appropriations.

The Constitution also gives Congress the ability to lay imposts and duties. In other words, tariffs. And yet, what we are seeing in the aftermath of last week is a president who has decided everybody gets a 10% tariff. And then on top of that, [he’s] going to add more. And then on top of that, “Oh, I’m going to pause it for 90 days. But I’m going to add more on China.” It’s just kind of all over the map. And I’m hearing people saying, well, what are you guys in Congress doing?

Well, one of the things that we’ve done over the years, over the decades, actually, in about a century, is we have continued to give authorities to the executive through emergency laws that we put in place that were designed to respond to specific emergencies. So when we give up through legislation or when we cede because we say, well, we actually like that policy, and so we’re not going to object to it, then they [the Executive Branch] just absorb it. And then the next administration comes in and says, “Well, they did that. So we get to do that.”

We in Congress have a responsibility and an obligation. It’s called the checks and balances. And right now, we are not balancing like we need to as Congress. (applause) Sometimes it’s really easy, particularly when things are so turbulent and really very, very chaotic that you want to be able to blame somebody else. But we cannot. Congress has ownership in this. And this is when I say it’s sitting down with our colleagues to say we have a role here, too. We can’t say, “Well, we’ll let the courts sort it out.” We’ve got to step it up.

Laurie Wolf: So you mentioned the courts. I am curious, I think I lost count, but I think we’re at 150 lawsuits at this point.

Senator Murkowski: No, I think we’re just over 200.

Laurie Wolf: Over 200. With over 200, I am watching two of them. Which ones are you watching, and what are we going to do if the checks and balances don’t seem like they’re working? What are we going to do if they really don’t work?

Senator Murkowski: Well, which ones am I watching? I mean, obviously, on the immigration side, [I am watching] very, very carefully. So many of these decisions go to the heart of our Constitution in so many ways. And so, again, if it’s authorities that are rightly with the Congress, whether it’s immigration, whether it’s birthright citizenship – I mean, there’s so much to be watching at this point in time, but you ask the right question. What happens when you have an administration that says, I don’t care what the courts say?

Well, when you no longer have that respect for that jurisdiction for the rule of law and the role of the courts, you have, in my view, not eradicated, but certainly eroded the underpinnings of the fundamentals and the foundations of our democracy. And so this is significant in so many ways.

And there will be people who will say there have been other administrations that, when the courts ruled, they figured out another way around it. And I’m not suggesting that everybody has clean hands in this. They don’t. But I do think that we are in dangerous territory when you have a view and an attitude that the reason the court went against you was because, well, that was an Obama judge or that was a Biden judge. This is a fear that I have right now. The executive [branch has] always been political, the legislative branch, always political. We get that. But the one branch that was supposed to be unbiased, very balanced, the one that was really going to be there for the checks, it was going to look solely to the Constitution.

Now we are seeing the courts being viewed as more and more partisan. And when people do not feel that the courts are there for them because they look at the court and they say, well, that’s a Biden court or that’s a Trump court. That’s when we are in a very dangerous place, because then you stop believing in the rule of law. You stop believing that there is justice and equality for all. And if we stop believing in that, who are we? I mean, this is the point that we do not like.

Laurie Wolf: This is the question. Well, Senator, we have just a few more minutes, and you have a willing audience of 500 people who are cheering for you, rallying for you, and supporting you in your effort to bring our causes to Washington. [Do you have a] final couple of things that you’d like to say, given that we are counting on you?

Senator Murkowski: So there was an exchange over the weekend. I haven’t seen Mark Lackey. Is Mark here? All the way in the back? I should recognize him from his big, long beard back there. A little bit grayer because of all that’s going on. [There is] a great deal of anxiety in the Head Start world because of a newspaper article this week that the president’s budget might not fund Head Start, and what is that going to mean to us? It’s already been difficult enough with Head Start when they shuttered some of the offices, and people don’t know where to go for help with grants or some of the day-to-day stuff they’re doing—so much anxiety.

So you’ve got what you read in a newspaper; you have stuff you’re hearing just by way of rumors. If I have any free advice, worry about the things that you have in front of you right here, right now, because that’s hard enough, as is. Try not to get too spun up with the things that are floating out there in the what-if category.

The president’s budget – we have no idea what it’s going to look like. We’re not anticipating it until probably the last week in May. So it’s causing all kinds of problems and issues within our appropriations. But, you know, the president’s budget, it’s done some damage before in the Head Start category. And Congress pushes back on it because we know the value and the importance of that. And so we say, at least we appropriators say, the President proposes, the Congress disposes. And so keep that in mind that we will be there to help you in advocacy for so many of these important programs that you are dealing with, the people that you serve, and just the communities across our state.

So, I guess I’m suggesting a level of patience. And as I say that, I don’t even feel good about that because it’s so hard to be patient when there are so many who are so anxious and who feel that they have no time because they’ve lost a job. They’ve lost a program. They have no answers for those who are serving.

So, know that I acknowledge how hard a time we are in as a state, and I can’t thank you enough for the sacrifices that you are making for so many, to try to be there for them. And know that I’m going to be there as your partner throughout it all, throughout some really difficult and very hard times. So, just genuinely thank you for what you do and how you do it.

Laurie Wolf: With that, please give the Senator a round of applause. (applause)