Trump told Attorney General Blanche he had a legal case against Republican primary rival Dan J. Sullivan in Alaska Senate race

On September 2, 2026, President Trump told Attorney General Todd Blanche, in remarks to Republican lawmakers at a Rose Garden dinner, "I think, Todd, you have a legal case on that" regarding Dan J. Sullivan, a Petersburg, Alaska Republican running in the state's U.S. Senate race. Dan J. Sullivan won 2.5% of the vote in the August primary, finishing behind Democratic candidate Mary Peltola (49.5%) and Republican incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan (41.4%); under Alaska's top-four advancement system, he qualified for the November general election ballot. Trump argued that Dan J. Sullivan's presence on the ballot "should be illegal," saying "let's say he takes two or three points away. That's the difference between winning and losing."

Trump and Sen. Dan S. Sullivan have repeatedly asserted, without providing evidence, that Dan J. Sullivan is a fraudulent "decoy" candidate who coordinated with Peltola's campaign to split the Republican vote. Dan J. Sullivan has denied this, saying his campaign was motivated by dissatisfaction with the incumbent and that he did not work with Peltola's campaign. Trump's remarks followed NBC News reporting on August 18, citing unnamed sources, that DOJ had issued grand jury subpoenas investigating Dan J. Sullivan's campaign — a claim Alaska Beacon has stated it has been unable to independently verify. Blanche, asked about the reported investigation in a July interview before his Senate confirmation, said he could "neither confirm nor deny" it, adding that "nobody should be caught talking about ongoing investigations whether they exist or not" — while separately telling Alaska's News Source that he does not see his role at DOJ as independent of the president and will factor Trump's views into prosecutorial decisions. Dan J. Sullivan, responding by email after publication of the Alaska Beacon's report on Trump's remarks, said: "I will not let President Trump's threats of retribution force me out of this race."