The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., is pictured as snow began to fall on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
On the Monday morning of Feb. 24, in boldface type, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski replied to worried constituents: “I have heard from thousands of Alaskans who are deeply troubled by the recent targeting of federal agencies, and are concerned about potential breach of their personal information.” Her letter was extremely gratifying to receive because it was the first time a member of her party has posted opposition to the unrestrained doings of Donald Trump’s appointee with his X team.
“We must have controls in place,” she wrote, “to ensure that the sensitive data of Americans is secure.”
“We must!” And yet, the alarming downside remains. One person in an instant overcame those controls, and now the sensitive data of every American have been gathered. Where is it now? Who can access it? Could it be hacked?
Meanwhile, the targeting of federal agencies for reduction continues including here in Alaska. On the same day the senator’s letter arrived, a news headline read, “Union expects at least 1,378 Alaska federal employees in probationary status to be fired.” This as many federal employees in Alaska have already been fired. The scope and location of job losses cannot yet be determined because the mass firings are haphazard, and some of them have been reversed.
Sen. Murkowski concludes her letter with a long-hoped-for declaration from any member of her political party:
“Know that I stand by the Constitution and will defend and uphold it, respecting the role of Congress and the separation of powers, against those who attempt to ignore the rule of law.”
Her announcement was like a flare climbing into the stormy sky above our stressed ship of state. Worried passengers look up to the brilliant light in surprise and then relief, but upon reflection, also doubt. A sign of help from just one is not enough.
A nautical parable portrays what is happening.
The captain and his brutal first mate seem intent on hijacking the ship and sailing in a different, unknown direction. They have driven many of its officers and civil service crew over the side. The brutality is shocking as they were given no warning, no lifeboats, no life jackets—just pushed overboard. More are being identified for the same fate. With normal operations untended and portals left open on every deck, in the storm of events and high seas, the great ship is taking on water and could be in danger of sinking. The passengers, with everything about them having been appropriated, stand shivering and bracing for the next act of deconstruction. Then the flare arrived, climbing steeply and gently floating. It was an answer at last to distress calls, but when will help arrive? Will it be enough and in time to check the flooding?
As the senator said about her fellow senators in a recent town hall event, “We have to stand up now;” and “the ‘we’ has to be more than just me….” More than a single person from the party in power will need to arrive with the Constitution to check the sinking of the ship. To date, no signal from another senator of her party has appeared.
Sen. Murkowski, though, is coming and has sent up another flare to say so, this time for all to see. It was fired from a press release to signal that she has crossed the aisle in a co-sponsored bill to help Ukrainian refugees in the United States. This is the first act of bipartisanship from a member of the party in control of the legislative co-equal branch of government.
This second flare serves as a reminder by example that each member of Congress is bound by the same oath, not to party and not to the present captain, but to the Constitution. It alone governs the primary duty of all members of that co-equal legislative crew.
And so to set the course home of this nautical theme, and borrowing from a message conveyed before a crucial battle to another crew—to the congressional crew in this present struggle, America expects that every man and woman will do their duty.
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