Body
The Alaska Legislature voted Thursday to reject Stephen Cox as the state’s attorney general nominee in a 29-31 decision during a joint session, leaving Dunleavy to reshuffle his legal leadership after the confirmation failed. Opponents said Cox’s record as acting attorney general did not meet their expectations, including questions about his handling of confidential voter data and about positions taken in legal fights connected to conservative priorities. Supporters argued Cox had the credentials and administrative ability the attorney general’s office requires, and they said their discussions with him reinforced that view.
Cox’s rejection marked the second time in Alaska history that a cabinet appointment failed confirmation. The other instance cited in the debate was Wayne Anthony Ross in 2009, when he was then-Gov. Sarah Palin’s choice for attorney general.
During Thursday’s session, legislators also approved four commissioners by unanimous or near-unanimous votes and approved most of more than 60 other appointees to boards and commissions, with the notable exception of two other nominees that also failed. In addition to rejecting Cox, the Legislature rejected Hannah Mielke for a public seat on the Alaska State Medical Board and rejected Crystal Herring for a seat on the State Board of Professional Counselors.
Cox was appointed acting attorney general by Gov. Mike Dunleavy last August after previously serving as a federal prosecutor in Texas. During the confirmation process, lawmakers who supported Cox cited his breadth of experience and said they were impressed by in-person meetings. Rep. Mike Prax, R-North Pole, said, “He had really good, a broad range, of experience — federal experience, corporate experience and et cetera,” and added that he believed Cox would be a good manager for the Department of Law. Prax also said he appreciated Cox’s willingness to listen to disagreements and different viewpoints.
In contrast, Sen. Löki Tobin, D-Anchorage, said Cox was underqualified, arguing that Cox and the Department of Law had not met the level of defense Tobin expected in certain disputes involving federal power, including what Tobin described as unconstitutional seizures of federal dollars and the freezing or withholding of funds for public institutions and nonprofits. Tobin said Cox had instead spent the previous year focusing on what he characterized as culture-war litigation, according to floor debate.
Dunleavy announced early Thursday afternoon that after the rejection, Cox would serve as counsel to the governor. In a statement, Dunleavy said Cox’s responsibilities would be to advise the governor on “a wide range of legal, regulatory, and constitutional matters affecting the State of Alaska.” Dunleavy also appointed Cori Mills, a 14-year Department of Law employee who most recently served as deputy attorney general, as acting attorney general.
The record of votes Thursday reflected sharp divisions along party lines in the House, while some Senate Republicans joined Democratic legislators in opposing Cox. The House voted mostly along majority-minority caucus lines to reject Cox, 21-19. The vote included support from House Majority Leader Chuck Kopp, R-Anchorage, while minority caucus member Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, voted against confirming him. In the Senate, four members of the bipartisan majority caucus — Bert Stedman, Jesse Bjorkman, Lyman Hoffman, and Kelly Merrick — joined the all-Republican minority caucus in voting for Cox, while Juneau’s three Democratic legislators — Sen. Jesse Kiehl and Reps. Andi Story and Sara Hannan — voted against Cox’s confirmation.
Among the opponents, Rep. Andrew Gray, D-Anchorage, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, said Cox had described last November that he was “fairly new and was wanting to tread with a light step until he figured out the way of things here.” Gray said he viewed later actions as inconsistent with that approach, citing Cox’s creation of a “quality of life division” and a solicitor general role within the Department of Law. Gray also questioned the relevance of some of the amicus briefs the Department of Law had filed, saying some lacked direct connection to Alaska.
Gray said, “Stephen Cox is a nice person,” and described a personal connection in the form of shared professional ties between Cox’s children and Gray’s child through a piano teacher. Gray added that he believed Cox could be a good attorney general for a different state, but not for Alaska, according to his remarks.
Alongside Cox’s rejection, the Legislature also rejected Hannah Mielke by a 13-47 vote for a public seat on the Alaska State Medical Board. Opponents cited concerns about her qualifications and medical knowledge, and supporters including Rep. Jamie Allard, R-Eagle River, argued she had potential but was not ready for the board role at that time. The Legislature also rejected Crystal Herring for a seat on the State Board of Professional Counselors by 28-32, with opponents citing concerns about a makeshift COVID-19 clinic Herring ran in Anchorage after a city contract and the cost of certain treatments compared with what other clinics offered for free.