Alaska Legislature rejects governor's attorney general nominee

The Alaska Legislature voted to reject Stephen Cox's confirmation as Attorney General. The final tally was 29-31. Confirmation required 31 yes votes.

Bipartisan opposition focused on Cox's decision to sign Alaska onto more than 110 amicus briefs on national issues, his hiring of an out-of-state Solicitor General with no Alaska ties, and concerns that he failed to defend Alaska's interests on critical issues.

The Senate Judiciary Committee had advanced Cox's nomination to the joint session. The committee's recommendation did not reflect how members would vote on confirmation.

Cox defended his approach. He said Alaska has joined similar multistate briefs for years. He told lawmakers the state is not typically invited to edit or rewrite these briefs. His review focused on whether Alaska has an interest, whether the legal position is sound, and whether it aligns with past state positions. He said the process often happens on short timelines.

Opponents pointed to an amicus brief Cox signed challenging birthright citizenship that quoted a Confederate soldier. Senator Tobin called the brief deeply offensive and counter to Alaska values.

"I represent one of the most racially diverse districts in Alaska, and the fact that our Attorney General signed my name to an amicus brief that quotes a Confederate soldier is not only deeply offensive to me, it is deeply offensive to the citizens of Alaska," Tobin said.

Opponents also argued the birthright citizenship brief was factually and legally flawed, not just offensive. One legislator said the brief contradicted settled law and historical evidence from the ratification of the 14th Amendment.

Representative Gray criticized Cox for authoring an amicus brief that took no position on Mississippi's mail-in ballot law, even though Alaska has similar provisions critical for rural and military voters. Alaska allows mail-in ballots to be counted if sent by Election Day and received within a specific timeframe afterward.

"Alaska is not just any state," Gray said. "Anyone who has spent significant time here knows the challenges of our postal system, especially for our communities that are off the road system."

Representative Gray also criticized Cox for creating a new second-highest official in the Department of Law, the Solicitor General, and hiring Jenna Lawrence, a 2017 law school graduate with no previous relationship with the state of Alaska. Gray said no other state has chosen a first Solicitor General with no previous relationship to that state.

Opponents said Cox spent the past year on what they characterized as national ideological battles instead of defending Alaska against federal overreach. Tobin said Cox had not stopped the freezing of federal dollars for Alaska nonprofits providing for the public good, nor the withholding of Title funds for public education.

"We deserve an Attorney General who is focused on our public safety, on consumer protection, on missing and murdered Indigenous peoples, on racial justice, on rural protections, and on defending our constitutional rights, not ideological national legal battles," one senator said.

Supporters said Cox has strong qualifications with 15 years working in Alaska. They argued that opposition reflected political disagreement rather than questions about his competence. Some supporters noted that attorneys act on behalf of the governor and that disagreement with specific briefs did not necessarily reflect Cox's personal views.

"If we look at his resume, his qualifications are stellar. He's been working in Alaska for the last 15 years," one representative said.

Another supporter praised Cox for launching the Joint State Anchorage Quality of Life Initiative targeting retail theft, repeat offenders, drug interdiction, and public disorder.

The House voted 19 yes, 21 no. The Senate voted 10 yes, 10 no. The combined 29-31 vote fell short of the majority needed.