01.29.25

Lutnick Commits to Championing Alaska Fishermen & “Freedom Fish” as Commerce Secretary

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), a member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, today received commitments from Howard Lutnick, President Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Commerce, to visit Alaska, champion the interests of Alaska’s fishermen and seafood industry, help implement President Trump’s “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential” executive order, and work to advance the Alaska Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Project. Sen. Sullivan highlighted the serious challenges facing Alaska and America’s fishermen, including the decade-long unfair, non-reciprocal seafood trade relationship between the U.S. and Russia, which was fixed by executive orders Sen. Sullivan secured in 2022 and 2023. Sullivan noted the Commerce Department’s important role in enforcing the comprehensive ban on the import of Russian seafood and advocating for America’s fishing communities.

Sen. Sullivan posed his questions to Mr. Lutnick during his confirmation hearing before the committee.

Below is a full transcript of Sen. Sullivan’s exchange with Mr. Lutnick.

Sen. Dan Sullivan: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Lutnick, congratulations to you and your family. Thank you for that very powerful opening statement. I appreciated our meeting. I'm really enjoying this hearing, all the focus on fish. It's great. In all seriousness, certain secretaries, most secretaries, in my view, have not embraced their role that they are really important to our fishing community. As you and I talked about, this is really important to my state. Alaska is the superpower of seafood. Over two-thirds of all seafood harvested in America—commercial, subsistence, sport—is harvested in Alaska's waters. Over two-thirds. So we're it. We're the 800-pound gorilla. Tens of thousands of Alaskans are connected to this industry. We are a huge powerhouse in terms of American exports. Mr. Lutnick, the vice president, in his opening statement, called you a “product guy,” a “sales guy,” a “good dude.” That's a quote from the vice president. Good dude. I want to also maybe give you the title of “Godfather of American Fishermen” or the patron saint of American fishermen…

Howard Lutnick: This is working for me.

DS: …to keep a focus on these communities, on these great Americans—just look at Deadliest Catch and things like that—and to be a leader on focusing on them. That does not always happen. As a matter of fact, it usually hasn't happened with the Secretaries of Commerce. Can you commit to me on doing that?

HL: Well, I love to fish, and I'm happy to commit to you. The fishermen of the United States of America are one of our great assets. It's easy for me to promise to take care of them.

DS: Great. Since you love to fish, this next question might be the easiest one you get all day. I need a commitment from you to come to Alaska. You can bring the family.

HL: As long as I can bring my family, we're coming.

DS: You can go fishing—but to meet these great American fishermen who are my constituents. It'd be great for you to get up there soon to meet them. Can I get your commitment to do that as well?

HL: It's my pleasure.

DS: Great. Let me mention—we already talked about it: The last four years have been tough on my state. This is a chart I’ve shown all over the place—the Last Frontier Lock Up, we called it. 70 executive orders and actions from the Biden administration singularly focused on shutting down Alaska. 70. Fortunately, this is now a thing of the past. We want to get rid of that. On day one, the President issued this executive order, President Trump. It's called “Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary Resource Potential.” It's long, right? It's very detailed. The Secretary of Commerce is mentioned in it. One of the lines in there: “It’s the policy of the United States”—this is from President Trump on day one—"to fully avail itself of Alaska's vast lands and resources for the benefit of the nation and the American citizens who call Alaska home.” You're mentioned in this, the Secretary of Commerce. Can I get your commitment to work with me on implementing every aspect of this really great Trump day one executive order?

HL: Yes.

DS: Great. Thank you. You mentioned disrespect for our fishermen. You and I talked about what we've been enduring for the last ten years. Russia instituted a ban on any exports of American seafood in 2014, and yet we had open borders essentially for them, for the last ten years, taking market share. Literally the most disrespectful, unfair trading situation I could see anywhere in the world. They were coming after our market share. Our fishermen in America could not export one fish to Russia. I worked really hard to get that changed. We got a ban, and then the Russians start sending their fish to China to essentially create a loophole, then to come into the U.S. We shut that down finally. Can you work with me to make sure we don't have that incredibly unfair—Russia bans everything and they can import everything here. Ridiculous. Same with China. You're a sales guy, a products guy. I want you to commit to me to promote American “freedom fish,” Alaska “freedom fish,” and don't allow “communist fish” from Russia and China coming into our markets. Can you commit…

HL: We’ve got to get rid of those communist fish.

DS: So can I get a commitment on that?

HL: I do.

DS: Excellent. No “communist fish.” Freedom fish is what we want. Finally, Mr. Lutnick, the chairman is going to focus this committee a lot on energy, which I think is great. I know you care about unleashing our extraordinary energy potential. One of the big areas of focus of the Trump day-one EO on unleashing Alaska's extraordinary resource potential is moving forward and finally getting done this massive Alaska LNG project that we've been working on for a number of years. We got all of the permits during the Trump administration. Of course, Biden blocked those. This would create thousands of jobs, would revitalize the American steel industry, would—estimates are—would reduce our trade deficit by about $10 billion a year. Can you commit to work with me, the President—who's very focused on that in his EO, the secretaries of Interior and Energy, and other cabinet officials, including our Asian allies, to make this project a reality, which will be great for the country, great for our workers, great for our trade deficit, and really boost America's national security?

HL: I can.

DS: Thank you.

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