Alaskans rally in Wasilla after Sen. Murkowski votes to advance controversial spending bill

More than 40 Alaskans gathered Sunday afternoon at Newcomb Park in Wasilla to protest Senator Lisa Murkowski’s vote to advance President Donald Trump’s proposed budget reconciliation bill, dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a sweeping federal proposal that slashes Medicaid, food assistance, and healthcare protections while delivering trillions in tax breaks to the billionaires.

Senator Murkowski’s vote to advance the bill for debate came late on Saturday night to advance the bill, though she has voiced serious misgivings in recent weeks about deep cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) proposed in the legislation.

She was one of the last senators to vote for the legislation when she walked onto the floor, after many of her GOP colleagues had already voted.

The pop-up rally, organized less than 12 hours in advance, drew a passionate and diverse crowd. Attendees brought handmade signs and gave impromptu speeches condemning the bill’s impact on low-income families, elders, and marginalized communities across the country.

“This vote was a betrayal of our most vulnerable neighbors,” Dave Musgrave, a speaker at the event and organizer with Mat-Su United for Progress said. “Trading protections for Alaskans while millions of others suffer isn’t leadership—it’s complicity.”

Among the most contentious items in the 1,000-page legislation is the proposed cuts to Medicaid, which could eliminate healthcare access for over 15 million Americans and slash $1.5 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, and deny food assistance to more than 11 million people.

While Senator Murkowski has said that Alaska would be shielded from some of the bill’s worst effects, protesters said such carve-outs come at too high a cost.

The senator was able to claim a success on June 27, when Republican leaders added language to the revised text of the bill, making Alaska eligible for waivers from new SNAP work requirements for “able-bodied” adults without dependent children.

Additionally, GOP leaders increased a rural hospital relief fund from $15 billion to $25 billion, while making other legislative changes to provide more money to Alaska’s hospitals and health care providers.

“Murkowski may have secured carve-outs for Alaska, but this bill still devastates the rest of the country,” said Musgrave. “This is a classic divide-and-conquer strategy—and Alaskans see right through it.”

The rally remained peaceful and attendee-led, with community members volunteering as peacekeepers. Organizers emphasized that this won’t be the last time they take to the streets to defend healthcare, dignity, and economic justice.

Attempts to reach Senator Murkowski’s office for comment were unanswered, however the senator has not said publicly how she will ultimately vote as the bill goes to the Senate this week.