U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin made an unexpected stop in Kodiak on Tuesday August 11—at least his second stop in an Alaska community this week.
Mullin said he came to Kodiak because Sen. Dan Sullivan is “very persuasive.” Sullivan, a Republican facing reelection this year in a tight race, toured Coast Guard Base Kodiak with the secretary and Coast Guard Commandant Kevin Lunday.
All three then gave short speeches to the public at the Kodiak Marketplace Tuesday afternoon with no major announcements. Mullin praised Sullivan for his work securing funding for the Coast Guard and spoke about the importance of the Coast Guard, which he said he had previously overlooked.
“The Coast Guard is like the Swiss Army knife of the Department of War," he said. "They do literally everything.”
The Coast Guard is the only military branch that is under Mullin’s Department of Homeland Security instead of the Department of Defense, which the Trump administration rebranded to the Department of War.
DHS staff blocked KMXT’s access to the event while Mullin was present because, they said, the Secret Service had not screened the reporter. The Kodiak Daily Mirror provided an audio recording of Mullin and Sullivan’s addresses to KMXT.
Sullivan stayed on after for a meet and greet with the public. He discussed the Trump administration’s $25 billion investment in the Coast Guard.
“There’s probably no community in Alaska that’s going to benefit more from that $25 billion dollar investment than Kodiak, Alaska," he said.
The Coast Guard previously announced that two icebreakers will be coming to Kodiak, which Sullivan said will likely bring more than 300 Coast Guard personnel to the island.
Mullin’s stop in Kodiak is part of a larger Alaska visit. He stopped in Anchorage earlier this week and met with the airport customs and TSA staff.
DHS staffers traveling with Mullin could not say where else Mullin would tour in Alaska. President Donald Trump appointed Mullin to the position in March after firing the previous Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
